BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

•o 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


A  Brief 
History 


OF  THE 
CHURCH  OF 
JESUS  CHRIST 
OF  LATTER- 
DAY  SAINTS 


BRIEF  HISTORY 


CHURCH  OF  JESUS  CHRIST  OF 
LATTER-DAY  SAINTS, 


FROM  THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  PROPHET  JOSEPH  SMITH 
TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


EDWARD  H.  ANDERSON, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  "LIFE  OF   BRIGHAM  YOUNG. 


THIRD     EDITION. 


V 

"And  in  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdon 
rhich  shall  never  be  destroyed."— Daniel  2:  44. 


Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

THE  DBSERET  NEWS,    PUBLISHERS. 

1905- 


COPYRIGHT  APPLIED  FOR 


PREFACE. 


This  little  volume,  containing  a  brief  outline  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Chirst  of  Latter-day  Saints,  was 
first  printed  in  September,  1893,  being  written,  as  was  its 
companion  volume,  "The  Life  of  Brigham  Young,"  at  the 
request  of  the  late  Apostle  Abraham  H.  Cannon,  to  whom, 
as  publisher  and  patron,  local  literature  must  ever  remain 
largely  indebted. 

To  aid  the  reader  in  obtaining  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  principles  of  the  Gospel,  in  connection  with  the  history 
of  the  people  who  were  instrumental  in  establishing  it,  refer- 
ences were  freely  made  to  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants  con- 
taining the  revelations  of  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith  for  the 
building  up  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  last  days. 

In  conjunction  with  his  own  experience,  the  author,  dis- 
claiming originality*" save  in  the  weaving,  gathered  his  facts, 
in  sketching  these  main  outlines  of  the  faith,  work,  travels 
and  persecutions  of  the  Saints,  from  a  large  number  of  re- 
liable authorities  on  the  subject.  Accuracy  was  aimed  at, 
as  well  as  completeness  as  far  as  the  limited  space  would  al- 
low. 

Two  leading  aims  were  kept  in  view  in  its  compilation ;  viz. , 
first,  to  create  an  interest  in  the  hearts  of  the  youth  of  the 
Church  in  the  marvelous  faith,  work,  toils  and  sacrifices  of 
the  founders  of  this  great,  latter-day  religious  fabric ;  second- 
ly, to  provide  a  handy  medium  from  which  that  large  class  of 


iv  PREFACE. 

visitors  and  other  persons,  who  have  neither  time  nor  in- 
clination to  read  the  more  ponderous  books  on  the  subject, 
might  obtain,  from  an  authentic  source,  desired  information 
on  "Mormonism." 

That  the  design  has  proved  successful  is  shown  by  the 
favor  with  which  the  work  has  been  received  by  the  public, 
to  whom  this  second  and  revised  edition,  with  six  added 
chapters  covering  the  past  decade,  is  now  respectfully  pre- 
sented. THE  AUTHOR 

Salt  Lake  Citv,  January,  1902. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  FROM  THE  PROPHET'S  BIRTH  TO  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE 

CHURCH. 

1805-1830. 

CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

1.  "A  Marvelous  Work  and  a  Wonder" 9 

2.  Message  from  on  High 15 

3.  The  Sacred  Hill  Cumorah  and  its  Treasures 20 

4.  Translating  the  records 24 

5.  Important  Revelations 29 

II.    FROM  THE   ORGANIZATION  TO   THE  FLIGHT  FROM 
KIRTLAND. 

1830-1838. 

1.  Organization  of  the  Church 33 

2.  Manifestations  and  Persecutions 35 

3.  Mission  to  the  Lamanites 41 

4.  Removal  of  the  Church  to  Ohio 47 

5.  The  Law  of  Consecration 49 

6.  Locating  the  Land  of  Zion 51 

7.  Progress  in  Kirtland  and  the  East 55 

8.  Expulsion  from  Jackson  County 58 

9.  High  Council  Organized 62 

10.    Zion'sCamp „  64 

II.  Apostles  and  Seventies  Chosen 67 

12.    Departure  from  Clay  County — Kirtland — Failures  and 

Apostasy — English  Mission 71 


Vi  CONTENTS 

III.    FROM  THE  MISSOURI  EXODUS  TO  THE  MARTYRDOM. 
1838-1844. 

CHAPTER.  PAGE 

1.  Banishment  from  Missouri — Pounding  of  Nauvoo 76 

2.  Lowering  Clouds 92 

3.  The  Martyrdom 95 

IV.    THE  CHURCH  UNDER  BRIGHAM  YOUNG. 
1844-1877. 

1.  Agreement  to  Leave  Nauvoo 100 

2.  Expelled  from  Illinois 104 

3.  Two  Military  Pictures 107 

.4.  The  Pioneers  and  the  First  Companies 112 

5.  Migration  of  the  Main  Body  West 116 

6.  Colonization 121 

7.  Utah  Territory  Organized — Events  Following 125 

8.  Events  from  1854  to  1857 133 

9.  The  Utah  Expedition 136 

10.  A  Period  of  Recuperation 143 

11.  Official  Crusade—Death  of  President  Young 148 

V.    FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT  YOUNG  TO  THE  PRESENT 

TIME. 

1877-1901. 

1.  John  Taylor  Chosen  Leader 154 

2.  The  Edmunds-Tucker  Agitation — Death  of  President 

Taylor  in  Exile 157 

3.  Changed  Conditions— Wilford  Woodruff  President. ...  159 

4.  The  Temples  of  the  Saints 162 


CONTENTS.  Vii 

CHAPTER.  PAGE 

5.  Utah  Admitted  into  the  Union  of  States 165 

6.  The  Pioneer  Jubilee 168 

7.  Utah  in  the  War  with  Spain 172 

8.  Death  of  President  Wilford  Woodruff 175 

9.  President  Lorenzo  Snow's  Administration 180 

10.  Joseph  F.  Smith  Chosen  President 188 

11.  Conclusion..  .  191 


f\  Brief  J-listory  of 


i. 

FROM  THE  PROPHET'S  BIRTH  TO  ITS  ORGANIZATION. 

1805—1830. 


1.   "A  MARVELOUS  WORK  AND  A  WONDER." 

With  the  age  of  freedom  in  religion,  that  followed  the 
flight  of  Luther  from  the  debauched  court  of  Pope  Leo  X, 
came  also  the  age  of  skepticism — not  alone  skepticism,  but 
hypocrisy.    While  the  revolution  in  theology,  inaugurated  by 
the  reformers,  shattered  the  thought-monopoly  which  had 
been  concentrated  in  the  Pope,  it  likewise  created  such  diver- 
sities of  opinion,  and  so  many  leaders  in  religion,  that  the 
world  of  mankind  were  literacy  "children  tossed  to  and  fro, 
and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  slight 
of  men  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to 
deceive." 

There  was  no  universally  acknowledged  head  of  the 
Christian  church.  It  is  true  that,  since  the  death  or  martyr- 
dom of  the  apostles  of  Christ,  God  had  acknowledged  no  au- 
thority on  the  earth.  All  had  apostatized  from  the  true  gos- 
pel, and  the  apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  pastors  and  teach- 
ers, which  Christ  had  acknowledged  or  commissioned,  were  no 
more  to  be  found;  the  Christian  bishops  had  departed  from 


10  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

the  simple  ordinances  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  instead 
had  introduced  Jewish  and  Pagan  observances,  ceremonies 
and  mysteries,  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  friends.  For  cen- 
turies, all  Christians — often  through  compulsion,  however, — 
had  acknowledged  the  pope  as  the  vicegerent  of  God,  and  had 
recognized  his  authority.  But  the  sweep  of  the  reformation 
broke  this  power  over  men.  Following  Luther,  Zwingli,  Cal- 
vin and  Cranmer,  arose  a  hundred  leaders  in  religion,  who, 
disregarding  the  injunction,  "And  no  man  taketh  this  honor 
unto  himself,  but  he  that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron,"  set 
themselves  up  as  officers  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  The  re- 
formation broke  the  power  of  popedom,  and  gave  to  men  the 
blessed  right  to  private  judgment;  but,  going  one  step  furth- 
er, the  Protestants,  like  the  Catholics,  from  whom  they  had 
emancipated  themselves,  usurped  authority,  for  nowhere  is 
there  a  record,  nor  even  a  profession  made,  that  authority 
was  conferred  by  revelation  from  God  or  the  ministration  of 
angels,  the  only  known  methods  by  which  it  could  be  done, 
upon  anyone  to  act  in  His  name.* 

This  disregard  of  authority  brought  with  it  a  train  of 
many  evils,  chief  among  which  were  hypocrisy,  and  a  service 
of  form  instead  of  a  worship  from  the  heart.  So  continued 
the  condition  of  the  people  almost  three  hundred  years,  from 
the  reformation  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  Prophet  Isaiah  foresaw  this  period  and  declared  of 
the  people  of  the  earth,  at  this  time :  "Wherefore  the  Lord 
said,  forasmuch  as  this  people  drawnear  me  with  their  mouth, 
and  their  lips  do  honor  me,  but  have  removed  their  hearts  far 

*  It  is  said  that  Roger  Williams  refused  to  continue  as  pastor  over 
the  largest  Baptist  church  in  this  country,  because  there  was  "no  reg- 
ularly constituted  church  on  earth,  nor  any  person  authorized  to  ad- 
minister any  church  ordinance;  nor  can  there  by,  until  new  apostles 
are  sent  by  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  for  whose  coming  I  am 
seeking."— See  "Picturesque  America,"  page  502. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  11 

from  me,  and  their  fear  toward  me  is  taught  by  the  precept 
of  men :  Therefore,  behold,  I  will  proceed  to  do  a  marvelous 
work  among  this  people,  even  a  marvelous  work 
and  a  wonder;  for  the  wisdom  of  their  wise  men  shall 
perish,  and  the  understanding  of  their  prudent  men  shall  be 
hid/'* 

This  "marvelous  work  and  a  wonder"  which  the  Lord 
was  to  accomplish,  was  the  restoration  of  His  authority  unto 
men,  and  the  establishment  and  organization  of  His  author- 
ized Church  upon  the  earth,  as  predicted  anciently  by  the 
Prophet  Daniel,  and  by  John  the  Keveiator : 

"As  for  thee,  0  king,  thy  thoughts  came  into  thy  mind 
upon  thy  bed,  what  should  come  to  pass  hereafter:  and  he 
that  revealeth  secrets  maketh  known  to  thee  what  shall  come 
to  pass.  *  *  *  And  in  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the 
God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never  be  des- 
troyed and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but 
it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms,  and 
it  shall  stand  forever/'  f 

"And  I  saw  another  angel  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 
having  the  everlasting  Gospel  to  preach  to  them  that  dwell 
on  the  earth,  and  to  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  saying  with  a  loud  voice,  Fear  God,  and  give  glory 
to  him:  for  the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come:  and  worship 
him  that  made  heaven,  and  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  foun- 
tains of  waters."}; 

The  words  of  John  the  Keveiator  explain  how  the  Gos- 
pel was  to  be  restored.  It  was  to  be  done  in  the  same  way 
that  God  adopted  in  ancient  times,  as  recorded  in  the  holy 
scriptures,  by  the  visitation  of  angels,  and  by  revelation. 

*  Isaiah    xxix,  13,  14. 

*  Daniel',  ii.  29,  44. 

j  Revelation,   xiv,  «.  T. 


12  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Save  through  these  channels,  how  could  Jehovah  make 
known  His  will  to  men  ?  As  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  so 
in  modern  times — the  household  of  God  was  to  be  "built  up- 
on the  foundation  of  Apostles  and  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ 
himself  being  the  chief  corner  stone."  Its  officers  were  to  be 
in  possession  of  the  gifts  and  of  "the  spirit  of  wisdom  and 
revelation/' 

In  the  midst  of  all  the  uncertainty  and  chaos  of  opinion, 
God  was  to  reveal  Himself,  and  out  of  conflict  establish 
peace,  out  of  disorder,  union  and  oneness  of  purpose,  so 
that,  as  formerly,  there  might  be  "One  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,"  etc. 

The  beginning  of  this  "marvelous  work"  was  inaugurat- 
ed in  the  dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  God  re- 
vealed Himself  personally,  and  by  the  visitation  of  angels,  to 
the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  and  chose  him  to  be  the  leader  of 
the  dispensation  of  the  fullness  of  times,  and  to  be  the  instru- 
ment to  introduce  the  gospel  of  Christ  by  authority — to  es- 
tablish and  organize  the  true  Church  of  God  in  the  latter 
days. 

Through  that  prophet  was  brought  forth  the  wonderful 
record  called  the  Book  of  Mormon — a  book  which  contains 
a  fullness  of  the  gospel  as  taught  by  our  beloved  Savior. 
Thirty  editions  of  this  work  have  been  printed — many 
thousands  of  volumes — and  scattered  broadcast  to  the  Eng- 
lish speaking  world,  while  its  precious  truths  have  been  read 
by  thousands  in  each  of  the  eleven  foreign  languages  into 
which  the  book  has  been  translated. 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  was  or- 
ganized on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1830,  in  the  town  of  Fayette, 
Seneca  County,  New  York.  It  is  built  upon  the  rock  of  reve- 
lation, and  through  this  means,  its  officers  have  received 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  13 

authority  from  God  to  act  in  their  callings  and  enjoy  the 
gifts  and  powers  of  the  gospel,  as  was  the  case  with  the  an- 
cient Apostles.  Its  mission  is  one  of  peace;  its  aims  and  ob- 
jects, the  preparation  of  the  people  for  the  second  coming 
of  Christ,  the  inauguration  of  the  Millennium,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man. 

"But  we  do  not  believe  this  claim,  it  is  visionary,  im- 
possible!" say  some  of  the  readers.  "It  cannot  be  possible 
that  this  is  the  'marvelous  work'  spoken  of  and  foreseen  by 
the  ancient  seer." 

In  reply,  it  must  be  said  that  such  is  the  claim  of  the 
Latter-day  Saints,  or  the  Mormons,  as  they  are  erroneously 
called.  If  they  are  justly  entitled  to  it,  their  history  for  the 
past  seventy  years  should  partially  demonstrate  the  fact. 
Their  docrines  speak  for  themselves. 

Who  shall  deny  that  the  Saints  are  entitled  to  the  claim 
they  make  when  a  review  is  taken  of  the  record  of  the  ac- 
complishments of  this  strange  people  ? 

From  forty  members,  in  1830,  the  following  of  the 
Church  today  has  grown  to  hundreds  of  thousands.  Then  it 
had  the  Prophet  Joseph  alone  to  declare  its  doctrines,  now  it 
has  missionaries  in  all  liberal  nations  of  the  earth.  It  has 
prospered  through  the  fire  of  severest  persecution.  Driven, 
peeled  and  scattered,  their  Prophet  and  Patriarch  basely  mur- 
dered for  their  testimonies,  its  members  have  rallied  with 
each  onslaught,  and  pressed  on  with  the  work  with  greater 
force  and  power  than  before.  It  counts  its  martyrs  by  the 
score,  its  heroes  and  heroines  by  the  thousands.  Driven 
from  their  homes  in  Illinois,  they  were  marvelously  sustained 
by  God  in  their  wonderful  exodus  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
In  this  wilderness  of  the  West,  the  rich  blessings  of  the  Lord 
have  followed  them  in  the  establishment  of  one  of  the  most 


14  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

prosperous,  thrifty  and  happy  commonwealths  of  our  nation. 
To  it  have  been  gathered  tens  of  thousands  of  the  poor  from 
the  nations  of  the  earth  to  build  up  and  beautify  the  latter- 
day  Zion,  virtually  fulfilling  the  prediction:  "And  many 
people  shall  go  and  say,  Come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord,  to  the  House  of  the  God  of  Jacob; 
and  he  will  teach  us  of  his  ways  and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths : 
for  out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  the 
Lord  from  Jerusalem."*  And  this  one:  "The  wilderness 
and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them;  and  the  desert 
shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose."'f 

Temples,  schools,  houses  of  worship,  cities  and  villages 
have  sprung  up  in  the  thirsty  wilderness,  and  the  result  of 
the  thrift  and  labor  of  this  peculiar  people  may  be  seen  in 
their  beautiful  homes,  gardens,  fields,  herds,  and  possessions, 
in  the  whole  region  of  the  great  West:  while  the  religious 
truths  promulgated  by  them,  without  money  or  pay,  are  tak- 
ing root,  yea  bearing  fruit,  not  alone  in  their  own  midst  but 
in  every  Christian  land.  Having  discarded  dead  forms,  the 
members  of  this  Church  worship  from  the  heart  and  point  to 
a  living  faith,  fully  sustained  by  noble  works.  Their  Church 
organization  is  unsurpassed,  the  government  unequaled  in 
modern  annals.  They  build  temples  for  the  worship  of  God 
and  for  the  performance  of  ordinances  for  the  living  and  the 
dead,  and  the  path  of  their  persecutions,  as  well  as  the  land 
which  they  now  peacefully  inhabit,  is  dotted  by  these  holy 
structures.  Everything  about  them  points  to  the  peculiar 
people  that  were  to  be  established  in  the  latter  days — their 
whole  career  is  a  "marvelous  work  and  a  wonder." 


*  Isaiah,  ii,  3. 
t  Ibid,  xxxv,  1. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  15 

2,    A  MESSAGE  FROM   ON  HIGH. 

Joseph  Smith,  the  Mormon  Prophet,  and  the  founder  of 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  was  born 
in  Sharon,  Windsor  County,  Vermont,  on  the  23rd  day  of 
December,  1805.  When  the  lad  was  ten  years  of  age,  his 
parents,  Joseph  Smith,  Sen.,  and  Lucy,  his  wife,  removed 
from  Vermont  to  Palmyra,  Ontario,  now  Wayne,  County, 
New  York.  Four  years  later  the  family  moved  into  Man- 
chester in  the  same  county.  The  elder  Smith  was  an  honest 
farmer,  with  humble  surroundings,  in  straitened  financial 
circumstances,  having  lost  much  of  his  property  through  the 
treachery  of  a  trusted  friend.  He  had  seven  sons  and  three 
daughters,  of  whom  Joseph,  the  Prophet,  was  the  fourth 
child. 

At  this  period,  Western  New  York  was  a  new  country 
in  most  respects;  Ohio  and  Illinois  were  yet  a  wilderness, 
and  beyond  Missouri,  which  was  then  the  limit  of  the  United 
States,  lay  the  practically  unexplored  regions  of  the  wild 
Indian  tribes. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  frontier  region  of  the  great  Em- 
pire State  were  poor,  plain  in  their  living  and  dress,  gen- 
erally religious,  or  spiritually  inclined,  read  the  Bible,  went 
to  church,  and  lived  in  all  respects,  excepting  the  religious, 
much  like  the  pioneer  of  the  great  West — a  familiar  charac- 
ter now  fast  disappearing  from  our  land — has  continued  to 
live  up  to  the  present  day.  There  was  doubtless  more  re- 
ligion, as  it  is  called,  in  the  life  of  the  early  frontiersman 
than  in  that  of  the  later  pioneer  of  the  West.  Seventy  years 
ago,  the  various  and  conflicting  sects  went  enthusiastically 
wild  in  their  camp  meetings  and  revivals — much  of  which 
excitement  has  died  out  by  the  promulgation  of  common- 
sense  religious  views  since  then.  About  two  years  after  the 


16  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Smith  family's  removal  to  Manchester,  there  was  a  great 
religious  revival  in,  the  district  thereabout.  Multitudes 
united  themselves  to  the  numerous  creeds,  and  when  there 
were  no  further  proselytes  to  make,  priests  and  converts 
turned  upon  each  other  to  contend  concerning  principles  and 
dogmas,  until  excessive  confusion  and  bad  feeling  prevailed. 

Members  of  the  Smith  family  were  divided,  some  join- 
ing one  society  and  others  another.  Young  Joseph  inclined 
to  the  Methodists,  but  his  mind  was  in  a  state  of  uneasiness 
owing  to  the  disunion  which  existed.  For  this  cause,  he 
kept  himself  aloof  from  all  parties,  "awaiting  the  hour  when 
the  divine  message  should  stir  the  waters  of  his  soul.''  In 
the  midst  of  the  surrounding  tumult,  he  often  said  to  him- 
self: "What  is  to  be  done?  Which  of  all  these  parties  is 
right?  Or,  are  they  all  wrong  together?  If  any  of  them 
be  right,  which  is  it,  and  how  shall  I  know  it  ?*' 

In  this  frame  of  mind,  he  was  one  day  reading  the  Epis- 
tle of  James,  the  first  chapter  and  fifth  verse :  "If  any  of  you 
lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  men  lib- 
erally, and  upbraideth  not ;  and  it  shall  be  given  him."  Here 
was  new  inspiration;  he  had  never  thought  of  his  condition  in 
this  light  before.  Certainly  God,  the  Father  of  religion, 
could  impart  the  truth.  The  youth  determined  to  enquire 
of  that  unfailing  source,  and  so  on  a  beautiful  morning,  in 
the  spring  of  1820,  he  retired  to  a  sylvan  glade  in  the  woods 
to  call  upon  the  name  of  God.  Finding  himself  alone,  he 
bended  his  knees,  vocally  for  the  first  time  offering  up  to  his 
Maker  the  desires  of  his  heart.  Then  a  mysterious  power  of 
darkness  overcame  him:  he  could  not  speak;  his  soul  was 
filled  with  a  horror  presaging  instant  destruction.  He  felt 
himself  in  the  fell  grasp  of  an  unseen  personage  of  darkness. 
His  soul  went  up  in  unuttered  prayer  for  deliverance,  and  as 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  17 

he  was  about  despairing,  the  gloom  rolled  away,  he  saw  a 
pillar  of  light  descending  from  heaven,  and  approaching  him. 
The  darkness  fled  with  the  enemy  that  had  afflicted  him.  As 
the  light  fell  upon  the  prostrate  lad,  he  saw  two  personages, 
in  the  form  of  men,  glorious  above  description,  standing 
above  him  in  the  air.  One  of  them  calling  him  by  name 
spoke,  saying: 

"This  is  my  beloved  Son,  hear  him." 

Gaining  control  of  his  thoughts,  he  remembered  the  ob- 
ject of  his  search,  and  enquired  which  of  all  the  sects  was 
right.  In  answer  he  was  told  that  none  of  them  was  right, 
and  that  he  must  join  none  of  them.  Said  the  glorious  Be- 
ing :  "They  draw  near  to  me  with  their  lips,  but  their  hearts 
are  far  from  me ;  they  teach  for  doctrine  the  commandments 
of  men,  having  a  form  of  Godliness,  but  they  deny  the  power 
thereof."  Joseph  was  amazed  at  the  instruction,  for  up  to 
this  time  it  had  not  entered  his  mind  that  the  true  church 
was  not  to  be  found  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  Eepeating 
their  command  that  he  should  not  ally  himself  with  any  of 
the  man-made  sects,  the  personages  withdrew,  the  light  van- 
ished, and  the  youth  recovering,  found  himself  lying  on  his 
back  gazing  up  into  heaven. 

Repeating  the  wonderful  vision  of  what  he  had  seen  and 
heard,  it  created  wide  surprise,  not  to  say  consternation  and 
amazement.  He  was  accounted  a  blasphemer  for  announcing 
that  the  Father  was  a  personage,  and  still  worse,  that  he,  an 
obscure  boy,  had  seen  Him  and  the  Son,  and  had  heard  their 
eternal  voice.  His  parents  and  his  brethren  believed,  but  not 
so  the  professors  of  religion.  One  of  the  ministers  to  whom 
he  confided  his  vision  told  him  flatly  that  it  was  of  the  devil. 
There  were  no  such  things  as  visions  and  revelations  in  these 
days.  Such  manifestations  had  ceased  with  the  apostles,  and 


18  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

there  would  never  be  any  more.  But  the  lad  remained  true 
to  his  trust,  and,  as  a  result,  he  was  persecuted,  stigmatized 
as  a  dreamer,  a  knave  and  a  hypocrite.  His  life  was  sought, 
he  was  persecuted  and  slandered,  but  still  he  said:  "I  had 
seen  a  vision.  I  knew  it,  and  I  knew  that  God  knew  it,  and 
I  could  not  deny  it,  neither  dare  I  do  it;  at  least,  I  knew  that 
by  so  doing  I  would  offend  God  and  come  under  condemna- 
tion." Thus  nothing  could  change  the  steadfastness  of  his 
testimony  which  he  maintained  through  the  toil,  poverty, 
scorn  and  tribulation  of  the  following  three  years,  during 
which  time,  forced  from  the  society  of  his  former  friends,  he 
was  obliged  to  seek  the  companionship  which  his  genial  and 
social  nature  craved  among  those  unnoted,  for  their  goodness, 
among  evil  characters,  as  he  himself  confesses.  Thus  he 
fell  frequently  into  many  foolish  errors,  and  he  felt  greatly 
condemned  at  times  for  his  weakness  and  imperfections. 

He  was  at  length  forced  to  seek  the  Lord  that  he  might 
receive  a  forgiveness  for  all  his  sins  and  foibles,  and  know  his 
standing  before  his  God.  On  the  night  of  September  21, 
1823,  he  prayed  earnestly  for  an  answer  to  his  petition;  and, 
while  thus  engaged,  the  darkness  began  to  fade  away,  and  a 
glory  appeared,  until  the  room  was  lighter  than  noonday.  In 
the  midst  of  this  light,  in  the  air  by  his  bedside,  stood  a  radi- 
ant personage,  whose  countenance  was  lovely  and  more 
bright  than  vivid  lightning.  Calling  the  youth  by  name,  he 
declared  himself  a  messenger  from  God  whose  name  was 
Moroni.  He  said  that  the  Lord  had  a  work  for  Joseph  to  do 
— that  through  him  God's  power  and  kingdom  were  to  be 
restored  to  earth,  and  that  his  name  should  be  had  for  good 
and  evil  among  all  nations. 

He  was  shown  in  vision  the  hill  wherein  were  hidden  the 
gold  plates  containing  the  record  of  the  Book  of  Mormon, 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  19 

and  with  them  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  prepared  by  the 
Almighty  to  aid  in  the  translation  of  the  book.  The  angel 
then  quoted  from  the  scriptures  various  prophecies  relating 
to  the  restoration  of  the  gospel  and  the  Priesthood,  and  the 
setting  up  of  the  Savior's  latter-day  kingdom,  and  the  usher- 
ing in  of  the  Millennium.  He  referred  to  the  prophecies  in- 
cluded in  the  fourth  and  part  of  the  third  chapters  of  Mala- 
chi,  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Isaiah,  the  twenty-second  and 
twenty-third  verses  of  the  third  chapter  of  Acts,  and  the  last 
five  verses  of  the  second  chapter  of  Joel,  saying  these  were 
about  to  be  fulfilled.  He  declared  that  the  "fullness  of  the 
Gentiles"  would  soon  come  in,  and  warned  the  youth  that 
when  he  should  obtain  possession  of  the  plates  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon  he  should  not  show  them  to  any  one  except  by 
commandment  of  God,  otherwise  he  would  be  destroyed. 
The  angel  then  left,  the  room  grew  dark  save  just  around 
the  ascending  messenger  who  disappeared  by  way  of  what 
seemed  a  conduit  right  up  into  heaven. 

Powerful  emotions  crowded  upon  the  mind  of  Joseph  as 
he  lay  musing  on  the  scene,  marveling  upon  the  things  which 
had  been  revealed  to  him.  While  he  yet  pondered,  the  angel 
made  his  second  appearance,  standing  in  a  blazing  glory  to 
repeat  the  solemn  message  to  the  listening  youth.  He  re- 
lated word  for  word  what  had  been  said  before,  adding  that 
great  judgments,  desolation,  famine,  sword  and  pestilence 
were  coming  upon  the  earth.  *  Again  Moroni  ascended,  short- 
ly thereafter  returning  a  third  time,  repeating  all  that  had 
been  said  before,  and  adding  by  way  of  caution,  that  Joseph 
must  not  give  way  to  a  mercenary  spirit  which  would  tempt 
him,  owing  to  his  proverty,  to  secure  the  plates  for  purposes 
of  gain.v  The  heavenly  ambassador  then  disappeared  as  the 
twilight  in  the  east  heralded  the  approach  of  day. 


20  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Having  thus  spent  the  night  in  holy  communion  with 
the  angel,  Joseph  left  his  bed  at  his  usual  hour  of  arising, 
and  proceeded  to  his  daily  toil  on  the  farm,  but  he  was  un- 
able to  work.  His  father  bade  him  return  to  rest  in  their 
home.  On  his  way,  his  strength  failed  him,  and  he  fell  help- 
less to  the  ground  as  he  was  crossing  a  fence.  A  voice  arous- 
ed him  by  gently  speaking  his  name.  He  looked  up  and  saw 
once  more  beside  him  the  angel  of  the  previous  night.  For 
the  fourth  time  he  related  the  heavenly  message  to  the 
future  prophet,  closing  with  the  command  that  Joseph  tell 
his  father  of  the  visits,  the  commandments  received  and 
of  what  he  had  learned  of  the  purposes  of  God.  He  obeyed 
and  standing  there  in  the  field,  he  related  to  his  father  all 
that  had  passed.  "My  son,  these  things  are  of  God;  take 
heed  that  you  proceed  in  all  holiness  to  do  His  will,"  said  the 
elder  Joseph  when  his  son  had  finished  his  narration. 

3.    THE  SACRED  HILL  CUMOBAH,  AND  ITS  TREASURE. 

On  the  road  from  Palmyra  to  Manchester,  about  three 
or  four  miles  from  the  former  place  (twenty-five  miles  south- 
west of  Eochester,  New  York)  is  situated  the  hill  Cumorah. 
Its  north  end  rises  abruptly  from  a  plain  to  the  height  of 
about  150  feet.  It  is  the  highest  of  the  many  hills  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  is  locally  known  by  the  name  of  "Mormon 
Hill." 

It  was  to  this  elevation,  named  Cumorah  by  the  ancient 
Nephites  and  Eamah  by  the  Jaredites,  that.  Joseph,  the 
Prophet,  proceeded,  just  after  obtaining  his  father's  con- 
sent and  blessing,  on  the  eventful  morning  referred  to  in  the 
previous  chapter.  He  knew  the  place  immediately  from  the 
vision  he  had  seen  of  it.  He  relates  that  "on  the  west  side 
of  the  hill,  not  far  from  the  top,  under  a  stone  of  consider- 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  21 

able  size,  lay  the  plates  deposited  in  a  stone  box;  this  stone 
was  thick  and  rounding  in  the  middle  on  the  upper  side,  and 
thinner  towards  the  edges,  so  that  the  middle  part  of  it  was 
visible  above  the  ground,,  but  the  edges  all  around  were 
covered  with  earth."  Obtaining  a  lever,  he  raised  the  stone, 
looked  in,  and  there  indeed  beheld  the  plates,  the  Urim  and 
Thummim,  and  the  breast-plate  as  stated  by  the  messenger. 
"The  box  in  which  they  lay,"  he  continues,  "was  formed 
by  placing  stones  together  in  some  kind  of  cement.  In  the 
bottom  of  the  box  were  laid  two  stones  cross-ways  of  the  box, 
and  on  these  stones  lay  the  plates  and  the  other  things  with 
them." 

Stretching  forth  his  hands  to  remove  the  contents, 
Joseph  was  immediately  restrained  by  the  messenger, 
Moroni,  who  told  him  that  the  time  had  not  yet  arrived,  but 
that  four  years  must  elapse  before  the  records  should  be  de- 
livered into  his  hands.  He  was  instructed  to  repair  to  the 
sacred  spot  each  succeeding  year  on  that  day,  where  the  angel 
would  meet  and  instruct  him  in  what  manner  the  Kingdom 
of  God  was  to  be  conducted  in  the  latter  days.  The  mes- 
senger cautioned  him  to  prove  faithful,  in  the  meantime, 
and  likewise  imparted  many  precious  truths  to  the  youth: 
telling  him,  among  other  things,  that  he,  Moroni,  while  living 
on  the  earth  four  centuries  after  Christ,  had  hidden  the 
plates  in  the  hill;  that  he  was  the  last  of  a  line  of  prophets 
who  ministered  to  an  ancient  people,  called  Nephites,  who  in- 
habited this  land;  that  he  was  the  son  of  Mormon,  a 
Nephite  prophet,  general,  and  historian,  whose  record  the 
plates  contained. 

Having  finished  his  instructions,  and  ended  his  coun- 
sel, the  angel  disappeared,  and  Joseph,  carefully  covering  the 
box  and  replacing  the  soil,  returned  to  his  home,  where  he 


22  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

related  his  experience,  confiding  to  the  members  of  the 
household  all  that  he  had  been  empowered  to  reveal.  They 
believed  in  his  wondrous  story,  and  rejoiced  in  the  know- 
ledge that  God  had  spoken  from  the  heavens. 

Each  succeeding  22nd  day  of  September,  the  hill 
Cumorah  was  visited  by  Joseph  ;  each  time  he  met  and  com- 
muned with  the  heavenly  messenger,  each  time  gazed  upon 
the  precious  records,  each  time  received  instructions  that  ex- 
panded his  intellect  and  gave  him  a  more  perfect  conception 
of  the  marvelous  work  which  God  was  about  to  found. 

The  period  which  now  followed,  when  he  was  between 
the  ages  of  eighteen  and  twenty-two  years,  was  to  be  the  most 
important  in  his  life  for  the  shaping  of  his  character.  It  was 
a  probation.  In  it  he  passed  through  the  preparatory  course 
in  which  the  Lord  fitted  the  future  prophet  for  the  resDonsi- 
bilities  incident  to  the  establishment  of  His  Church  upon  the 
earth  which  should  endure  forevermore. 

Joseph  toiled  diligently  upon  his  father's  farm  until 
his  younger  brothers  were  able  to  attend  to  the  duties  there 
and  at  home.  Then,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  sought  employ- 
ment at  a  distance.  His  engagement  carried  him  to  Harmony, 
Susquehanna  County,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  employed 
by  a  Mr.  Josiah  Stoal,  of  New  York,  in  digging  for  a  silver 
mine  which  his  employer  imagined  existed  in  that  region. 
The  mine  was  a  failure,  and  Joseph,  who  was  greatly  respect- 
ed by  his  employer,  prevailed  upon  the  latter  to  abandon 
the  undertaking,  which  was  accordingly  done.  While  thus 
employed,  Joseph  boarded  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Isaac  Hale, 
with  whose  daughter  Emma,  he  became  enamored.  His  love 
was  reciprocated,  but  the  parents,  being  prejudiced  against 
the  youth  by  the  stories  of  his  enemies,  circulated  to  injure 
him  because  he  still  continued  to  assert  that  he  had  seen  a 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  23 

vision,  would  not  for  a  time  consent  to  their  union.  Under 
these  circumstances,  the  girl  being  of  age,  high-minded  and 
devout,  they  acted  without  consent,  and  were  married  in 
South  Bainbridge,  Chenango  County,  New  York,  by  Squire 
Tarbill,  on  the  18th  day  of  January,  1827.  Eeturning  with 
his  wife  to  his  father's  home  in  Manchester,  he  assisted  in  the 
labor  on  the  farm  to  obtain  means  for  his  family  and  his 
mission. 

Upon  these  two  incidents — his  being  employed  to  dig 
for  silver,  and  his  marriage  away  from  his  wife's  father's 
home — were  based  the  accusations  of  his  enemies  that  he 
was  a  "money-digger"  and  "wife-stealer." 

The  end  of  his  four  years'  probation  was  rapidly  ap- 
proaching. Joseph  had  been  faithful  to  his  trust.  Not  once 
had  he  failed  in  his  prescribed  visits  to  the  sacred  hill. 
Faithfully  had  he  kept  the  counsels  of  his  heavenly  teacher. 
In  his  preparatory  work,  he  had  been  sincerely  supported  by 
his  wife  and  his  brethren,  who  participated  in  his  hopes,  and 
did  much  to  comfort  his  heart,  in  the  midst  of  the  assaults 
and  ridicule  that  were  heaped  upon  him. 

At  length  the  promised  day  arrived;  for  the  fifth  time, 
the  youth  stood  upon  the  spot  where  the  sacred  records 
were  concealed.  It  was  the  morning  of  the  22nd  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1827.  With  a  prayer  that  he  might  prove  faithful 
to  his  trust,  he  removed  the  cover  of  the  box,  and  stretching 
forth  his  hands  at  the  angel's  command,  took  from  their 
hiding  place  the  treasures  there  safely  hidden  for  fourteen 
centuries.  Lifting  them  to  the  surface,  he  examined  their 
beauty.*  Then  it  was  that  the  angel  charged  him  to  shield 


*  "The  Urim  and  Thummim  was  two  precious  stones  set  in  an  arch 
of  silver,  which  was  fastened  to  an  ancient  breast-plate  of  pure  gold, 
curiously  wrought.  The  breast-plate  was  concave  on  one  side  and  con- 
vex on  the  other,  and  seemed  to  have  been  made  for  a  man  of  greater 


*4r  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

the  records  from  profane  sight  and  touch,  to  guard  them  as 
sacredty  as  he  would  his  life.  He  was  now  alone  responsible. 
If,  through  any  neglect, he  should  suffer  them  carelessly  to  be 
destroyed  or  to  go,  great  should  be  his  chastisement,  and  he 
should  finally  be  cut  off;  but,  if  he  should  use  all  care  to  pre- 
serve them  until  they  should  be  called  for  again  by  the  mes- 
senger, they  should  be  protected  from  the  efforts  that  would 
be  made  to  rob  him  of  them,  and  he  should  have  the  support 
of  heaven  and  come  off  triumphant. 

"Moroni  disappeared,  and  the  Prophet  of  the  Last  Dis- 
pensation stood  alone  upon  Cumorah,  clasping  to  his  bosom 
the  priceless  trust. " 

4.    TRANSLATING  THE  RECORD. 

Soon  it  became  apparent  why  Joseph  had  been  caution- 
ed by  the  angel  to  guard  the  plates  so  carefully.  No  sooner 
had  he  begun  his  homeward  journey  than  he  was  assaulted 
by  evil  persons  who  sought  his  destruction.  Three  times, 
on  the  short  journey  to  his  home,  he  was  attacked  by  un- 
known men  who  endeavored  to  strike  him  and  rob  him  of 
his  charge.  Once  he  was  hit  with  a  bludgeon.  However, 
he  reached  home  with  the  plates  unharmed,  though  himself 
bruised  and  weakened  from  the  contest.  But  the  persecu- 
tion was  continued,  falsehoods  were  cunningly  set  afloat 
concerning  him,  prejudice  walled  him  in,  assassins  lurked  by 

stature  than  is  ordinary  in  modern  days,  four  bands  were  fastened  to 
it,  for  the  purpose  of  attaching  it  to  the  person  of  its  wearer— two  of 
the  bands  being  for  the  shoulders,  the  other  two  for  the  waist  or  hips. 
"The  plates,  also  of  gold,  were  of  uniform  size;  each  was  slightly 
less  in  thickness  than  a  common  sheet  of  tin  and  was  about  eight 
inches  in  width,  and  all  were  bound  together  by  three  rings  running1 
through  one  edge  of  the  plates.  Thus  secured,  they  formed  a  book 
about  six  inches  in  thickness.  A  part  of  the  volume,  about  one- 
third,  was  sealed;  the  other  leaves  Joseph  turned  witn  nis  hand.  They 
were  covered  on  both  sides  with  strange  characters,  small  and  beauti- 
fully engraved."— Cannon's  Life  of  Joseph  Smith,"  p.  49. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  25 

his  pathway,  seeking  his  life,  mobs  surrounded  his  home, 
every  means  was  adopted  by  his  enemies  for  his  destruction 
and  to  gain  possession  of  the  plates.  But  while  their  efforts 
in  these  directions  failed,  his  enemies  succeeded  by  these 
means  in  preventing  Joseph  from  proceeding  with  his  work 
of  translation,  and  the  persecution  at  length  became  so  un- 
bearable that  he  was  forced  to  flee  from  Manchester.  He 
then  determined  to  go  to  the  residence  of  his  wife's  father 
in  Pennsylvania. 

No  sooner  had  he  decided  upon  this  course  than  pov- 
erty, another  seemingly  insurmountable  barrier,  presented 
itself;  but  this  was  relieved  by  the  timely  aid  rendered  by  a 
Mr.  Martin  Harris,*  a  rspectable  and  well-to-do  farmer  of 
Palmyra  Township,  New  York,  a  friend  who  was  inspired 
to  assist  the  Prophet  in  the  midst  of  his  afflictions  with  a 
gift  of  fifty  dollars.  By  this  means  he  was  enabled  to  reach 
his  destination  in  Pennsylvania.  Twice  on  this  journey, 
Joseph  was  stopped  by  officers,  armed  with  pretended  law 
warrants,  who  searched  the  wagon  in  quest  of  the  golden 
plates,  but  again  they  were  unsuccessful. 

Early  in  December,  1827,  he  reached  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Isaac  Hale,  his  father-in-law,  where  he  was  kindly  re- 
ceived, the  anger  of  his  wife's  parents  over  the  young  peo- 
ple's independent  action  in  getting  married  having  evident- 
ly abated. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival,  he  began  copying  the 
characters  of  the  plates,  and  by  means  of  the  Urim  and 
Thummini  translated  some  of  them,  in  which  labor  he  was 
engaged  from  the  time  of  his  arrival  to  the  following  Feb- 
ruary. It  was  some  time  during  this  month  that  his  friend 
Martin  Harris  visited  him  to  learn  more  of  his  wondrous 

*  One  of  the  three  witnesses  to  the  Book  of  Mormon;  born  East- 
town,  Saratoga,  county,  N.  Y.,  May  18,  1783;  died  Clarkston.  Cache 
county,  Utah,  July  10,  1875. 


26  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

mission.  Soon  after,  Mr.  Harris  carried  away  to  New  York 
some  of  the  copies  and  translations  made  from  the  plates, 
the  object  being  to  show  them  to  some  scientist  or  linguist 
who  should  determine  on  their  genuineness;  for  while  Mr. 
Harris  believed,  he  was  evidently  not  without  his  doubts. 
J  Being  shown  the  characters,  Prof.  Charles  Anthon,  of 
Columbia  College,  stated,  according  to  the  account  of  Mr. 
Harris,  that  the  translation  was  correct,  more  so  than  any 
he  had  before  seen  translated  from  the  Egyptian.  The 
Professor  was  then  shown  the  untranslated  characters, 
which  he  said  were  true  Egyptian,  Chaldaic,  Assyric,  and 
Arabic.  He  gave  a  certificate,  addressed  to  the  people  of 
Palmyra,  embodying  the  expressed  assertions,  and  gave  it 
to  Mr.  Harris,  who  folded  it,  placed  it  in  his  pocket,  and 
was  about  to  leave,  when  the  Professor  enquired  how  the 
young  man  learned  that  there  were  gold  plates  in  the  place 
where  he  found  them. 

"An  angel  of  God  revealed  it  to  him/'  was  the  farmer's 
reply. 

"Let  me  see  that  certificate,"  said  the  astonished  Pro- 
fessor. Mr.  Harris  complied,  thinking  the  learned  man  de- 
sired to  add  something  to  it,  but  no  sooner  was  the  paper 
in  the  Professor's  hands  than  he  tore  it  in  pieces,  saying: 

"There  is  no  such  thing  in  these  days  as  ministering 
of  angels/'  adding  that  he  wished  the  plates  brought  to  him, 
and  he  would  translate  them. 

"A  part  of  the  plates  is  sealed,  and  I  am  forbidden  to 
bring  them,"  said  Mr.  Harris,  whereupon  the  Professor  con- 
temptuously replied: 

"I  cannot  read  a  sealed  book." 

And  thus  were  fulfilled  literally  the  words  of  the  an- 
cient Prophet  of  God,  as  written  in  Isaiah  xxix,  11. 

Dr.  Mitchell,  another  learned  scholar,  was  consulted, 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  27 

and  seconded  all  that  Prof.  Anthon  had  said  concerning 
the  characters  and  the  translation.  The  related  incident 
converted  Mr.  Harris  to  the  testimony  of  Joseph,  and,  re- 
turning, he  offered  to  become  the  scribe  of  the  Prophet  in 
the  work  of  translation,  which  proffer  was  gladly  accepted. 
Their  joint  !ahors  in  this  work  continued  from  April  12th  to 
June  15th,  1828,  by  which  time  116j>ages  of  manuscript 
had  been  translated,  and  was  copied  by  Mr.  Harris.*  At 
this  time,  the  latter  much  desired  to  show  his  wife  and 
other  skeptics  these  pages,  and  at  length,  much  against  the 
will  of  Joseph,  received  permission  to  do  so,  on  condition 
that  only  certain  persons  named  should  be  allowed  to  see 
the  writings.  This  pledge  was  broken,  and  the  manuscript 
was  stolen,  being  never  again  seen  by  Joseph  who  thus  an- 
gered the  Almighty,  and,  besides,  lost  his  gift  of  transla- 
tion for  a  time.  Mr.  Harris,  though  he  was  forgiven,  and 
afterwards  became  one  of  the  Three  Witnesses  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  never  again  acted  as  Joseph's  scribe.  Joseph's 
wife  now  assisted  him  for  a  short  period  in  the  work  of 
translation,  but  owing  to  her  household  duties  and  the  loss 
of  their  first-born,  in  the  summer  of  1828,  slow  and  tedious 
progress  was  made. 

Joseph  prayed  earnestly  to  the  Lord  that  he  might 
receive  assistance  in  the  task  before  him;  and,  in  answer 
to  his  petitions,  there  came  to  his  door,  in  Harmony,  a 
young  school  teacher,  named  Oliver  Cowdery  who  had  heard 


*  The  following  is  the  manner  in  which  it  is  said  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon was  translated:  "The  Prophet,  scanning  through  the  Urim  and 
Thummim  the  golden  pages,  would  see  appear,  in  lieu  of  the  strange 
characters  engraved  thereon,  their  equivalent  in  English  words.  These 
he  would  repeat,  and  the  scribe,  separated  from  him  by  a  veil  or  cur- 
tain would  write  them  down.  *  *  *  Until  the  writing  was  correct  in 
every  particular,  the  words  last  given  would  remain  before  the  eyes  of 
the  translator,  and  not  disappear.  But  on  the  necessary  correction 
being  made,  they  would  immediately  pass  away  and  be  succeeded  by 
others." 


28  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

of  and  believed  in  the  angelic  vision  of  the  Prophet.  He  of- 
fered his  services  as  scribe  and  secretary,  which  were  eager- 
ly accepted,  and  the  hindered  work  again  proceeded  on  the 
7th  day  of  April,  1829,  advancing  so  rapidly  that  by  the 
middle  of  the  following  May  its  greater  part  was  completed. 

While  the  work  progressed,  not  only  were  many  pre- 
cious truths  revealed,  from  heaven  to  the  young  men,  but 
from  the  records  themselves,  they  gleaned  many  glorious 
principles  that  gave  them  great  joy.  But  persecution  con- 
tinued unabated,  so  much  so  that  if  Joseph's  father-in-law 
had  not  given  them  protection,  it  is  doubtful  that  they 
could  have  proceeded.  Timely  financial  aid  was  rendered 
them  by  Joseph  Knight  of  Colesville,  Broome  County;  and, 
at  the  residence  of  the  Whitmer  family,  friends  of  Oliver 
Cowdery,  at  Fayette,  Seneca  County,  they  found  a  home  in 
which  the  latter  portion  of  the  records  was  translated,  they 
having  been  invited  to  come  there  by  David  Whitmer. 

At  length  the  translation  was  completed,  the  plates  were 
re-committed  into  the  charge  of  the  angel  Moroni,  who  re- 
ceived them  back  into  his  keeping  until  the  time  shaii  come 
when  the  sealed  portions  are  to  be  brought  forth. 

The  Prophet  and  his  friends  visited  at  Palmyra  Mr. 
Martin  Harris  to  arrange  for  the  publication  of  the  work 
for  which  that  gentleman  was  to  furnish  the  money.  Ar- 
rangements were  made  with  Mr.  Egbert  B.  Grandin  to 
print  five  thousand  copies  for  three  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  copyright  was  secured  on  the  llth  day  of  June,  1829. 
While  Joseph  visited  his  home  in  Pennsylvania,  during  the 
Autumn  of  1829.,  and  the  succeeding  winter,  Oliver  Cowdery 
remained  to  give  his  attention  to  the  printing  and  publica- 
tion of  the  book;  and,  in  the  spring  of  1830,  the  first  edition 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  given  to  the  world. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  29 

6.    IMPORTANT  REVELATIONS. 

To  the  Prophet  Joseph,  intelligence  concerning  the 
new  Church  which  God  was  about  to  establish,  was  made 
known  as  it  was  needed,  as  the  work  progressed.  The 
whole  plan  was  neither  revealed  at  once  nor  understood  by 
the  Prophet  from  the  beginning.  During  his  whole  life  he 
received  numerous  revelations  through  which  he  was  taught, 
and  by  which  he  was  prepared  for  his  labors  as  they  ap- 
peared. These  counsels  and  teachings  are  found  in  the  Doc- 
trine and  Covenants,  a  book  of  revelations  given  as  neces- 
sity demanded  for  the  comfort  and  guidance  of  the  servants 
of  God  and  the  Church. 

On  one  occasion,  while  engaged  in  the  translation  of 
the  Book  of  Mormon,  Joseph  and  Oliver  encountered  a  pas- 
sage which  spoke  of  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins.  This 
being  new  to  them,  as  it  is  to  many  to  this  day,  they  felt  a 
desire,  a  necessity  to  comply  with  this  doctrine.  After  con- 
sulting on  the  matter,  they  went  to  the  woods  and  there 
united  in  prayer  for  light  on  the  subject.  While  thus  en- 
gaged a  heavenly  messenger  descended  before  them.  He 
told  them  that  he  was  John  the  Baptist,  and  that  he  had 
come  to  minister  to  them  under  the  direction  of  the  Apos- 
tles Peter,  James  and  John,  who  still  held  the  Priesthood 
after  the  order  of  Melchizedek.  Laying  his  hands  upon  their 
heads,  he  conferred  upon  them  the  Aaronic  Priesthood, 
which  holds  the  keys  of  the  ministering  of  angels,  and  the 
remission  of  sins.  The  angel  also  instructed  them  in  the 
duties  of  this  Priesthood,  saying  that  in  due  time  the 
Higher,  or  Melchizedek  Priesthood,  without  which  there 
can  be  no  true  Church  of  Christ,  would  be  conferred  upon 
them  by  proper  authority.  John  then  commanded  them 
to  go  forth  and  baptize  each  the  other  by  virtue  of  the  author- 


30  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ity  transmitted  to  them;  this  was  accordingly  done  on  the 
15th  day  of  May,  1829,  when  Joseph  baptized  Oliver  and  af- 
terward Oliver  immersed  Joseph  for  the  remission  of  sins. 
Coming  out  of  the  water,  they  ordained  each  other  to  the 
Aaronic  Priesthood,  following  which  the  Holy  Ghost  fell 
upon  them,  causing  them  to  rejoice  and  prophesy.  Thus  was 
the  beginning  made  to  the  membership  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  the  initiatory  ordinance  being  performed  by  direct 
authority  from  heaven. 

Time  after  time,  Joseph  proclaimed  to  anxious  en- 
quirers the  tidings  that  an  angel  from  heaven  had  restored 
to  earth  the  power  -to  baptize  men  for  the  remission  of 
sins,  and  that  himself  and  Oliver  had  been  the  recipients 
thereof.  Out  of  the  scriptures,  he  reasoned  with  his 
friends,  as  he  met  them.  People  soon  began  to  receive  the 
testimony,  among  the  first  being  Samuel  H.  and  Hyrum 
Smith,  brothers  of  the  Prophet. 

After  the  removal  to  Fayette,  several  honest  souls  in 
the  Whitmer  family  became  convinced  of  the  divine  mission 
of  the  Prophet,  and  were  baptized;  while  many  others 
thereabout  were  soon  made  believers  ^hroup-h  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Spirit,  and  by  means  of  the  instructions  and 
persuasions  of  Joseph  and  Oliver,  who  were  privileged  to 
meet  the  people  and  speak  to  them  on  many  occasions. 

In  the  course  of  the  work  of  translating  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  the  Prophet  and  his  scribe  learned  that  the  Lord 
would  provide  three  special  witnesses,  who  should  be  grant- 
ed permission  to  see  the  plates,  etc.,  and  who  should  bear 
record  of  the  same.*  By  revelation,,  Oliver  Cowdery,  David 
Whitmer  and  Martin  Harris  were  chosen  such  f  witnesses. 

*  See  Book  of  Mormon,  Ether  v,   2-4. 

t  See  Section  17,  Doctrine  and  Covenants. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  31 

Some  days  after  their  selection,,  these  men  with  the  Prophet 
retired  into  the  woods  to  obtain  a  fulfillment  of  the  promised 
privilege.  In  answer  to  their  prayers,  an  angel  appeared 
showing  them  the  plates,  turning  over  the  leaves,  one  by 
one,  so  that  they  could  see  them  and  discover  upon  them 
the  engravings.  A  voice  said  unto  them  that  the  plates  had 
been  revealed  and  correctly  translated  by  the  power  of 
God.  They  were  then  commanded  to  bear  record  of  what 
they  saw  and  heard,  which  they  afterward  did,  their  testi- 
mony being  found  in  every  edition  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
It  remains  unimpeached  to  this  day;  notwithstanding  all  of 
them  subsequently  apostatized,  not  one  of  them  ever  denied 
that  he  had  seen  the  plates  and  the  heavenly  messenger, 
as  he  had  at  first  solemnly  testified.  Eight  other  witnesses, 
whose  testimony  is  also  found  in  all  editions  of  the  book, 
testify  that  Joseph  showed  them  the  plates  which  they 
handled. 

At  a  day  not  definitely  known,  but  between  the  15th 
of  May  and  the  end  of  June,  1829,  Peter,  James  and  John 
appeared  in  glory  to  Joseph,  conferring  upon  him  and  Oli- 
ver Cowdery  the  Apostleship  and  Melchizedek  Priesthood 
which  these  ancient  disciples  of  the  Lord  and  Savior  held 
while  in  mortality.  These  two  modern  servants  of  God,  the 
first  Elder  and  the  second  in  the  Church,,  then  re-ordained 
each  other  to  the  same  Priesthood.  The  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  now  sealed  upon  their  heads,  and  they  rejoiced 
exceedingly,  being  now  in  position  to  confer  this  gift  upon 
others.  They  were  also  thus  made  possessors  of  the  Mel- 
chizedek Priesthood,  which  is  the  "moving,  directing,  con- 
trolling, governing  or  presiding  agency,  right  and  authority 
which  is  vested  in  the  Godhead  and  del  plated  unto  man  for 
the  purposes  of  his  instruction,  initiation  into  the  Church, 


32  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

spiritual  and  temporal  guidance,  government  and  exalta- 
tion. *  *  Which  is  without  father,  without  mother 
or  descent,  or  beginning  of  days  or  end  of  life;  which  the 
Great  High  Priest,  Melchizedek,  so  honored  and  magnified 
in  his  time  that  it  was  called  after  his  name,  in  honor  to  him 
and  to  avoid  the  too  frequent  repetition  of  the  name  of  the 
Son  of  God/'* 

Following  their  ordination  to  the  High  Priesthood, 
came  a  momentous  revelation  from  the  Lord  making  known 
to  them  the  calling  of  Twelve  Apostles  in  the  last  days, 
giving  also  many  instructions  concerning  the  building  up 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  according  to  the  fullness  of  the 
gospel,  f 

Thus,  during  the  eventful  months  of  May  and  June, 
1829,  were  revealed  many  important  truths  and  principles, 
fraught  with  world-wide  benefits,  with  great  consequences 
to  the  religious  world. 

It  was  learned  that  baptism  is  esential,  and  is  for 
the  remission  of  sins;  and  men  were  authorized  to  perform 
this  ordinance. 

Witnesses  were  chosen  to  testify  to  the  divinity  of  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  now  almost  ready  to  be  distributed  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  who  would  through  it  receive 
a  fulness  and  an  undefiled  explanation  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  taught  anciently. 

The  beginning  was  successfully  made  in  proclaiming 
these  tidings  to  mankind. 

As  a  result  of  the  whole,  the  hour  was  rapidly  approach- 
ing when  the  true  Church  could  be  organized,  when  the 
"marvelous  work  and  a  wonder"  which  the  Lord  was  in 
the  act  of  bringing  forth  could  be  thoroughly  founded  in  the 
earth. 

*  Joseph  F.  Smith,  in  The  Contributor,  Vol.  X,  page  307. 
t  See  Doctrine  and  Covenants,    Section    18. 


II. 

FROM  THE  ORGANIZATION  TO  THE  FLIGHT  FROM 
KIRTLAND. 

1830—1838. 


1.     ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  CHCJRCH. 

By  the  will  and  commandments  of  God/  the  6th  day 
of  April,  1830,  was  the  date  fixed  for  the  organization  of 
the  Church,  for  which  everything  was  now  in  readiness. 
On  that  day,  a  meeting  of  the  baptized  members,  about 
forty  in  number,  was  called,  and  assembled  in  the  house  of 
Peter  Whitmer,  Sen.,  in  Fayette,  Seneca  County,  New  York. 
The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  was  or- 
ganized, on  the  date  named,  with  six  members,  which  num- 
ber was  required  by  law.  The  original  members  were :  Joseph 
Smith,  Jun.,  Oliver  Cowdery,  Hyrum  Smith,  Peter  Whit- 
mer, Jun.,  Samuel  H.  Smith  and  David  Whitmer. 

In  conformity  with  previously  revealed  commandments, 
the  Prophet  Joseph,  having  first  opened  the  meeting  by  pray- 
er, called  upon  the  members  present  to  know  whether  they 
were  willing  to  accept  him  and  Oliver  Cowdery  as  their 
teachers  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  whether  they  were 
willing  to  be  organized  as  a  Church.  By  unanimous  vote, 
they  consented, whereupon  Joseph  laid  his  hands  upon  Oliver 
ordaining  him  an  Elder  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  after  which 
Joseph  was  ordained  by  Oliver"  to  the  same  office.  The  sacra- 

*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section   20;   1-4. 
3 


34  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ment  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  partaken  of  by  those  who 
had  been  baptized,  following  which  they  were  made  the  recip- 
ients of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  confirmed  members  of  ^The 
Church  by  the  laying  on  of  the  Elders'  hands.  The  Spirit 
was  richly  manifest,  so  that  all  rejoiced  and  praised  God, 
while  a  number  prophesied.  Some  of  the  brethren,  for  the 
members  were  now  "brethren  and  sisters,"  were  likewise, 
at  this  time,  ordained  to  the  various  offices  in  the  Priest- 
hoock  the  duties  of  which  were  made  known  by  revelation 
about  this  time.* 

While  the  Saints  were  yet  together  on  this  occasion, 
the  Prophet  Joseph  voiced  to  his  followers  the  revelation 
found  in  the  twenty-first  section  of  the  Doctrine  and  Cove- 
nants, in  which  his  divine  calling  is  declared,  the  forgiveness 
of  his  sins  proclaimed,  and  the  Church  commanded  to  give 
heed,  in  all  patience  and  faith,  to  his  words  as  he  shall  re- 
ceive them,  as  if  they  came  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  Him- 
self; being  promised  that  in  so  doing,  the  Lord  would  dis- 
perse darkness  from  before  them,  cause  the  heavens  to  shake 
for  their  good,  and  that  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail 
against  them.  Mighty  blessings  are  promised  to  those  who 
shall  labor  in  the  vineyard  to  declare  the  way  open  for  the 
remission  of  sins,  and  Jesus  crucified  for  the  sins  of  the 
world. 

"Thus  was  founded/'  says  the  Historian  Whitney,  "the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  Thus  arose, 
as  a  system,  what  the  world  terms  Mormomsm, — universally 
regarded  as  the  most  remarkable  religious  movement  of 
modern  times ;  detested  and  denounced  throughout  Christen- 


*  In  the  20th  Section  of  the  Doctrine  and  Covenats  are  found  in- 
structions concerning  Church  organization,  government,  and  discipline, 
the  proper  mode  of  baptism,  the  administration  of  the  Sacrament, 
duties  of  officers  and  members,  etc. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  35 

dom  as  a  dangerous  and  soul-destroying  imposture,  but  re- 
vered and  defended  by  its  disciples  as  the  wonderful  work 
of  the  Almighty,  the  veritable  'marvelous  work  and  wonder' 
foretold  by  Isaiah  and  other  ancient  seers,  which  was  to 
prepare  the  world,  by  the  preaching  of  the  restored  gospel 
and  the  founding  of  the  Latter-day  Zion,  for  Messiah's  sec- 
ond coming  and  the  advent  of  the  Millennium." 

2.    MANIFESTATIONS  AND  PERSECUTIONS. 

The  Church  was  organized  on  a  Tuesday,  and  the  first 
public  meeting  thereafter  was  held  at  the  house  of  Peter 
Whitmer,  in  Fayette,  on  the  following  Sunday,  April  11, 
1830.  Since  the  appointment  for  this  gathering  had  gone 
forth  in  all  the  surrounding  neighborhood,  it  was  attended 
by  a  large  number  of  people.  On  this  occasion  Oliver  Cow- 
dery,  under  Joseph's  direction,  preached  the  first  public  dis- 
couse  delivered  by  an  authorized  servant  of  God  in  the  lat- 
ter-day dispensation.  Saints  and  strangers  were  greatly 
comforted,  many  of  the  latter  seeking  baptism  and  member- 
ship among  the  people  of  God.  Six  were  added  that  day, 
followed  by  seven  others  on  Sunday  the  18th,  all  being 
baptized  by  Oliver  Cowdery,  in  Seneca  Lake. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  month  of  April,  Joseph 
visited  the  home  of  Mr.  Joseph  Knight,  at  Colesville,  Broome 
County,  New  York,  the  gentleman  who  had  so-  kindly  aided 
him  in  the  hour  of  need,  while  engaged  in  translating  the 
Book  of  Mormon.  Mr.  Knight  and  family,  who  were  Uni- 
versalists,  received  him  kindly,  reasoning  calmly  with  him 
upon  his  religious  views.  The  Prophet  held  several  meetings 
which  created  friends,  enemies,  and  numerous  enquirers  af- 
ter the  truth.  Among  those  who  attended  regularly  was 
Newel  Knight,  a  son  of  Joseph  Knight,  who  became  so  in- 


36  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

terested  in  the  words  of  the  Prophet  that  he  promised  to 
pray  in  meeting  before  his  friends.  When  the  time  came, 
however,  he  could  not  he  prevailed  upon  to  do  that,  hut  in- 
stead retired  into  the  woods,  from  which  place  he  returned 
in  an  alarming  condition  of  mind  and  hody.  Visiting  him, 
Joseph  found  his  visage  and  limbs  distorted  and  twisted;  and 
while  the  Prophet  was  yet  there,  his  friend  was  caught  up 
from  the  floor  and  tossed  helplessly  about  the  room. 
Through  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  Joseph  saw  that  he  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  evil  one,  and  that  the  power  of  God 
alone  could  save  him  from  such  tortures.  Joseph  succeeded 
in  getting  hold  of  his  hand,  when  Newel  requested  that  the 
devil  which  possessed  him  be  cast  out.  Joseph  replied :  "If 
you  know  that  I  can,  it  shall  be  done/'  and  then,  almost 
unconsciously,  the  servant  of  God  rebuked  the  destroyer, 
commanding  him  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  to  depart.  In- 
stantly, Newel  cried  out  with  joy,  saying  that  he  could  see  the 
devil  leave  the  room  and  vanish  from  sight.  His  counten- 
ance became  natural,  his  distortions  ceased,  he  was  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  believed,  was  made  whole,  and  was 
afterward  baptized  by  David  Whitmer,  while  on  a  visit  to 
Fayette  in  the  latter  part  of  May.  Many  others  who  wit- 
nessed this  strange  event  subsequently  became  members  ol 
The  Church. 

Thus  was  the  first  miracle  performed  in  The  Church, 
by  the  power  of  God,  and  it  was  a  beginning  of  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  promises  made — for  it  was  to  be  a  gospel  of 
"signs"  following  the  believer,  as  in  days  of  old.  Since  then, 
thousands  of  miracles  have  been,  and  are  being,  performed 
by  the  Elders  who  ever  give  to  the  Father  the  praise,  honor 
and  glory. 

Having  completed  his  labors  in  Colesville,  Joseph  re- 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  37 

turned  to  Fayette,  where  he  found  much  excitement  over 
the  coming  forth  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which,  though 
having  heen  in  print  for  some  time,  "was  accounted  a  strange 
thing. "  The  Saints,  their  friends,  and  believers  in  the  book, 
were  being  subjected  to  much  petty  persecution. 

In  Fayette,  on  the  first  day  of  June,  1830,  the  first 
conference  of  the  Church  was  held.  Thirtv  members  were 
present  on  the  opening  day,  there  being  also  many  strang- 
ers, and  believers  in  the  new  faith.  The  Sacrament  was 
administered;  the  faith  of  the  congregation  was  so  great 
that  many  saw  heavenly  visions,  and  felt  the  manifestations 
of  the  Spirit  in  such  a  miraculous  manner  that  they  were 
deprived  of  their  natural  strength  for  a  time.  Eestored  to 
their  bodily  powers,  they  shouted  ^Hosannas  to  God  and  the 
Lamb,"  and  rehearsed  the  glories  which  they  beheld  while 
yet  in  the  Spirit.  Many  baptisms  followed,  more  were  or- 
dained to  the  offices  of  the  Priesthood,  the  brethren  were 
inspired  with  fresh  zeal  in  the  cause,  and  Mormonism  began 
spreading  with  unprecedented  rapiditv. 

Eeturning  immediately  after  this  conference  to  his  home 
in  Pennsylvania,  Joseph  soon  thereafter  departed  thence, 
with  his  wife,  on  a  visit  to  the  home  of  Joseph  Knight,  at 
Colesville,  where  he  found  many  believers  anxious  for  bap- 
tism. On  a  Saturday  night,  the  Elders  constructed  a  dam 
over  a  stream,  where  baptisms  were  to  be  performed  after 
the  appointed  meeting  on  the  following  Sabbath  day.  But 
a  mob,  led  by  certain  priests  in  the  neighborhood,  tore 
away  the  dam,  necessitating  the  postponement  of  the  or- 
dinance till  Monday,  when,  notwithstanding  the  rage  of 
their  enemies,  (who  had  become  still  more  embittered  at 
hearing  the  testimonies  of  the  divinity  of  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, and  the  first  principles  of  the  gospel,  at  the  Sunday 


I  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

meeting,)  thirteen  persons  were  baptized  under  the  hands 
of  Oliver  Cowdery.  Among  these  was  Emma,  the  wife  of 
the  Prophet  Joseph  whose  joy  at  welcoming  her  into  the  fold 
was  unspeakable. 

Scarcely  was  the  ordinance  completed,  when  the  mob 
again  began  their  annoyances.  Fifty  men  surrounded  the 
house  of  Mr.  Knight,  and  it  was  only  by  exercising  great 
care  that  the  Elders  were  saved  from  violence.  Joseph  con- 
fronted the  mob,  bravely  answering  their  insults  and  threat- 
enings,  in  a  vain  endeavor  to  pacify  them.  Finally  the  rab- 
ble withdrew,  and  the  Elders  prudently  went  to  the  home 
of  Newel  Whitney.  Here,  as  they  were  about  to  confirm  the 
gathered  converts,  a  constable  appeared  with  a  warrant  for 
the  arrest  of  Joseph,  the  charge  being  preaching  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  and  setting  the  country  in  an  uproar.  The  ar- 
rest had  been  instigated  by  the  mob  whose  plan  was  to  get 
him  into  their  hands,  so  the  now  friendly  constable  said. 
This  proved  to  be  true,  and  but  for  the  friendliness  of  the 
officer,  who  found  Joseph  a  different  personage  from  what 
he  had  been  represented,  undoubtedly  they  would  have  taken 
him  from  custody.  When  the  mob  surrounded  the  wagon, 
the  constable  whipped  up  his  horse,  and  thus  drove  the 
Prophet  out  of  their  reach.  Taking  him  to  South  Bain- 
bridge,  Chenango  County,  he  was  lodged  in  a  tavern  where 
the  constable  kept  watch  over  him  for  the  night.  Next 
day,  amid  great  excitement,  he  was  called  for  trial,  the 
charges,  among  others,  being  that  he  had  obtained  from 
Josiah  Stoal,  his  former  employer,  a  horse,  and  from  a  Jon- 
athan Thompson,  a  yoke  of  oxen,  by  telling  them  that  he 
had  received  revelations  that  he  was  to  have  the  property. 
Taking  the  witness  stand,  these  gentlemen  testified  in  the 
prisoner's  favor,  and  he  was  promptlv  acquitted.  His  de- 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  39 

fenders  were  Messrs.  Joseph  Davidson  and  John  Reid  who 
had  been  secured  by  Mr.  Joseph  Knight. 

No  sooner  was  Joseph  set  free  than  he  was  re-arrested 
on  a  warrant  from  Broome  County,  and  taken  to  Colesville 
for  trial.  The  officer  into  whose  hands  he  now  fell  treated 
him  harshly,  allowing  him  neither  food  nor  water  for  many 
hours.  At  the  tavern,  the  rabble  abused,  ridiculed,  insult- 
ed, spit  upon  and  pointed  their  lingers  at  him.  Then  at 
length,  he  was  given  some  crusts  of  bread  and  witter,  and 
permitted  to  retire  for  the  night. 

At  the  trial  on  the  following  day,  the  same  gentlemen 
defended  him  as  were  at  the  former  trial.  They  h  sld  forth 
in  its  true  light  the  malicious  nature  of  the  prose  mtors  of 
the  case.  Joseph  was  again  promptly  acquitted,  ;  here  be- 
ing no  cause  for  action.  This  greatly  angered  his  enemies 
who  now  threatened  him  with  violence. 

They  were  prevented  from  accomplishing  their  de- 
signs by  the  officer  who  had  before  treated  him  so  harshly, 
but  who,  like  many  others  who  had  witnessed  the  case,  was 
now  disposed  to  be  friendly.  With  this  help,  Joseph  and 
his  wife  escaped  unharmed  to  his  home  in  Pennsylvania. 

Not  many  days  after,  however,  he,  with  Oliver  Cow- 
dery,  revisited  Colesville  to  confirm  the  baptized  members, 
but  scarcely  had  they  arrived  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Knight 
when  the  mob  began  to  gather,  and  they  were  forced  to  flee 
for  their  lives,  without  accomplishing  their  purpose.  On 
a  subsequent  visit  they  were  more  successful. 

With  the  assistance  of  his  wife  and  John  Whitmer, 
Joseph  now  spent  some  time  in  arranging  and  copying  the 
revelations  received  up  to  this  date.  In  the  month  of  June, 
what  is  known  as  the  " Visions  of  Moses/'*  and  in  July  the 

*  See  "Pearl  of  Great  Price,"  pa#e  1. 


40  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

commandments  found  in  the  24th,  25th  and  26th  sections 
of  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  were  made  known. 

Oliver  Cowdery  had  returned  to  Mr.  Whitmer's,  at 
Fayette,  and  while  Joseph  was  yet  in  Harmony,  he  received 
a  letter  from  him,  in  which  the  announcement  was  made 
that  an  error  had  been  discovered  in  one  of  the  command- 
ments, which  Joseph  was  asked  to  correct,  to  which  the 
Prophet  replied  that  the  words  were  given  of  God,  and  must 
stand  as  written  until  God  should  change  them.* 

It  was  only  after  Joseph  had  made  a  personal  visit 
to  Fayette  that  Oliver,  and  some  of  the  Whitmer  family 
who  had  also  been  misled,  were  convinced  of  the  correctness 
of  the  Prophet's  position;  but  even  then,  the  incident  caused 
a  breach  between  the  First  Elder  and  the  Second,  whose 
relations  up  to  this  time  had  been  congenial  and  mutually 
helpful,  which  only  temporarily  closed,  soon  to  be  re-opened. 

In  the  early  part  of  August,  some  of  the  unconfirmed 
members,  baptized  in  Colesville,  came  to  Harmony,  where- 
upon Joseph  prepared  to  hold  a  confirmation  meeting. 
Wishing  to  administer  the  Sacrament,  he  set  out  to  obtain 
some  wine,  when  he  was  met  by  a  heavenly  messenger,  and 
received  a  revelation  in  which  the  use  of  wine  in  the  Sacra- 
ment is  forbidden,  unless  it  be  made  new  among  the  Saints 
themselves,  f  Returning,  Joseph  complied  with  the  instruc- 
tions, the  meeting  being  held  as  contemplated. 

Persecutions  now  revived  in  Harmony,  set  in  motion 
by  the  efforts  of  a  Methodist  minister.  Joseph's  father-in- 
law,  Mr.  Isaac  Hale,  was  preva^ed  upon  to  join  the  ranks 
of  the  opponents,  and  from  that  time  on  became  a  bitter 


*  See  Docrtine  and  Covenants,  Section  20,  verse.  37,  the  words  en- 
closed in  commas  in  the  last  four   lines. 

t  Section  27,  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  verses  1-4. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  41 

foe  to  Mormonism.  It  became  impossible  for  Joseph  and 
Emma  to  remain  in  their  old  home  in  Harmony,  and  so, 
accepting  a  second  invitation  from  the  Whitmers,  they  re- 
moved to  Fayette,  arriving  there  in  the  latter  part  of  Aug- 
ust, 1830. 

8.    MISSION  TO  THE  LAMANITES. 

Fresh  troubles  now  confronted  the  cause.  Upon  ar- 
riving in  Fayette,  the  Prophet  found  serious  dissensions 
among  his  followers.  The  trouble  arose  over  a  stone  in  the 
possession  of  Hiram  Page,  through  which  he  had  obtained 
a  number  of  spurious  revelations,  the  teachings  of  which 
were  contrary  to  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
to  those  received  by  the  head  of  the  Church.  A  number 
of  the  Saints  had  been  misled,  prominent  among  whom 
were  Oliver  Cowdery,  and  some  of  the  Whitmer  family. 
Speaking  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  the  Prophet  told  them 
that  Satan  had  deceived  Hiram  Page,  that  the  communica- 
tions received  through  the  stone  were  not  of  God,  and  that 
he  alone  was  to  receive  revelations  for  the  Church,  until 
another  should  be  appointed  in  his  stead.  All  things  were 
to  be  done  in  order,  and  by  common  consent  by  the  prayer 
of  faith.  Oliver  Cowdery  was  called  upon  to  induce  Page 
to  discard  the  stone,  and  he  was  likewise  called  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  the  Lamanites,  which  mission  he  was  to  fill  as 
soon  as  the  differences  then  existing  in  the  Church  were  set- 
tled.* In  this  same  revelation,  allusion  is  made  to  a  "city'' 
which,  though  not  definitely  located,  was  to  be  founded  some- 
where in  the  West,  on  the  "borders  by  the  Lamanites.''  It 
was  about  this  time  also  that  the  important  revelation  con- 
cerning the  eventual  gathering  of  the  Saints  was  given. 

*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  28:  1-8. 

t  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  29:  1-11.     See  also  Section  10,  vs. 
69-66. 


4:2  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

At  a  three  days'  conference  in  Fayette,  the  second  held 
in  the  Church,  beginning  September  1,  1830,  Hiram  Page 
and  his  associates  renounced  the  stone  in  question,  and  all 
things  connected  therewith,  renewing  their  fealty  to  Joseph 
as  their  leader  and  prophet.  Thus  harmony  was  restored 
once  more,  the  threatened  seism  being  completely  blotted 
out.  At  this  conference,  two  revelations  were  given  (Doc- 
trine and  Covenants,  Sections  30  and  31)  calling  a  number 
of  the  brethren  on  missions;  and  soon  after  its  adiourn- 
ment,  preparations  were  made  for  introducing  the  gospel 
to  the  Lamanites,  or  Indians,  in  conformity  with  the  re- 
vealed word.* 

The  Latter-day  Saints  believe  that  they  themselves  are 
of  Israel,  and  it  is  a  cardinal  doctrine  with  them  that  scat- 
tered Israel  shall  be  gathered  in  the  last  days,  which  in  a 
measure  accounts  for  the  startling  sacrifices  made  by  them 
in  proclaiming  the  gosuel  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
and  in  their  calling  upon  the  honest  in  heart,  the  seed  of 
Israel,  to  gather  to  the  land  of  Zion,  or  America.  With 
Jeremiah,  they  believed  that  "He  that  scattered  Israel  will 
gather  him,  and  keep  him,  as  a  shepherd  doth  his  flock." 
Hence  their  eagerness  to  declare  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  the 
nations,  and  in  the  "isles  afar  off."  The  gathering,  which 
involves  not  only  the  scattered  remnants  of  Israel,  but  also 
the  return  of  the  Ten  Tribes  from  the  "north  country," 
the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  the  re-building  of  Jeru- 
salem, was  accounted  a  strange  doctrine  when  first  an- 
nounced in  this  age;  so  was  the  calling  of  missionaries  to 
go  forth  to  preach  without  purse  or  scrip.  Even  the  in- 
spired mind  of  the  Prophet  scarcely  understood,  nay,  did 
not  understand,  the  full  import  of  these  and  other  doctrines 


*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  32. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH  43 

revealed  through  his  instrumentality.  But  he  made  this 
motto  his  rule  of  life:  "When  the  Lord  commands,  do  it," 
at  the  same  time  showing  his  followers  the  necessity  of  a 
like  obedience. 

The  Indians,  according  to  belief  of  the  Saints,  which 
is  founded  upon  the  statements  of  the  Book  of  Mormon, 
are  a  branch  of  the  House  of  Israel,  and  are  therefore  to 
hear  the  word  of  God  so  that  they  may  carry  out  their  portion 
of  the  great  gospel  program,  and  assist  in  building  up  the 
city  of  Zion,  the  New  Jerusalem  of  the  West.  Hence  the 
calling  of  missionaries,  at  this  early  day,  to  present  the  true 
gospel  to  them,  together  with  the  Book  of  Mormon,  a  record 
of  the  hand  dealings  of  God  with  their  forefathers. 

The  men  selected  by  revelation*  to  perform  this  first 
distant  mission,  "to  go  into  the  wilderness,  through  the 
western  states,  and  into  the  Indian  territory,"  were  Oliver 
Cowdery,  Peter  Whitmer,  Jr.,  Parley  P.  Pratt  and  Ziba 
Peterson.  While  they  were  specially  called  to  the  Indians, 
they  were  nevertheless  to  preach  wherever  opportunity  of- 
fered. 

Parley  P.  Pratt,  whose  history  at  this  point  is  insep- 
arably interwoven  with  that  of  the  Church,  was  born  April 
12th,  1807,  in  Burlington,  Otsego  County,  New  York,  and 
was  baptized  into  the  Church  by  Oliver  Cowdery,  in  Seneca 
Lake,  September  1,  1830.  Previously  he  had  been  a  Camp- 
bellite  preacher.  The  Campbellites  were  a  sect  of  reformed 
Baptists,  whose  stronghold  was  in  and  about  Kirtland, 
Ohio,  and  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie.  Among  their  noted  men 
were  Alexander  Campbell,  the  founder  of  the  sect,  and  Sid- 
ney Eigdon,  a  gifted  expounder  of  the  Scriptures.  Soon 
after  joining  this  sect,  in  August,  1830,  Pratt  decided  to  de- 

*  Djctrine  and  Covenants,  Sections  28,  30  and  32. 


44  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

vote  his  life  to  the  ministry,  for  which  reason  he  sold  his 
frontier  home  in  Ohio,  going  east  to  carry  out  his  resolve. 
While  on  this  journey,  he  first  saw  the  Book  of  Mormon,  in 
which  he  immediately  became  deeply  interested.  He 
started  to  seek  the  Prophet,  hut  not  finding  him  at  home,  he 
visited  his  brother  Hyrum  Smith,  who  accompanied  him  to 
Fayette,  where,  becoming  convinced  of  the  divinity  of  Jo- 
seph's mission  he  was  baptized,  as  stated.  He  then  went 
east  and  there  converted  his  brother  Orson,  afterwards  a 
famous  Apostle  and  one  of  the  pioneer  founders  of  Utah. 
Eeturning  west,  he  met  the  Prophet  Joseph  at  Manchester, 
being  soon  thereafter  called  to  fill  the  before-mentioned 
mission  to  the  Lamanites,  or  Indians. 

Late  in  October,  the  four  Elders  began  their  westward 
journey  on  foot,  trusting  in  the  Lord  "to  open  up  the  way.v 
Near  Buffalo,  they  presented  their  interesting  message  to 
the  Catteraugus  Indians,  giving  them  copies  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon.  They  were  kindly  received  by  the  red  men.  Con- 
tinuing their  journey,  their  next  stop  was  at  Kirtland,  then 
a  prosperous  frontier  town  of  about  two  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, a  city  where  "Mormonism  itself,  their  parent  Church, 
was  destined  soon  to  plant  its  pilgrim  feet."  Seeking  an 
interview  with  his  former  teacher,  Sidney  Eigdon,  Elder 
Pratt  delivered  to  him  the  message  of  his  new-found  truths. 
Mr.  Eigdon  with  many  of  his  prominent  followers,  among 
whom  may  be  mentioned  Edward  Partridge  and  Newel  K. 
Whitney,  afterward  the  first  two  Bishops  of  the  Mormon 
Church,  soon  became  convinced  that  they  had  no  authority 
to  minister  in  the  ordinances  of  God,  hence,  were  not  le- 
gally baptized  and  ordained.  Consequently  many  of  them 
submitted  to  baptism  at  the  hands  of  Elder  Pratt  and  his 
associates,  through  whose  ministrations  they  received  the 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  45 

gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  laying  on  of  hands.  The  in- 
terest and  excitement  over  the  new  missionaries  became 
general  in  the  surrounding  region.  Night  and  day  they  were 
busy  teaching  the  multitudes  who  came  to  listen.  In  two  or 
three  weeks  after  their  arrival,  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  souls  were  baptized,  which  number  soon  increased  to 
one  thousand.  The  new  converts  "were  filled  with  joy  and 
gladness;  while  rage  and  lying  were  abundantly  manifested 
by  gainsayers;  faith  was  strong,  joy  was  great,  and  perse- 
cutions heavy." 

i.  Ordaining  Sidney  Kigdon,  Isaac  Morley,  John  Murdock 
Lyman  Wight,  Edward  Partridge  and  many  others,  many 
of  whom  afterward  became  noted  in  the  chronicles  of  the 
Church,  to  the  ministry,  to  take  charge  of  the  Saints  and 
minister  the  gospel,  the  successful  missionaries,  having  first 
notified  the  Prophet  of  their  progress,  proceeded  westward, 
adding  to  their  number  a  new  convert,  Frederick  G.  Wil- 
liams. 

At  Sandusky,  in  Western  Ohio,  the  Wyandots  were 
visited,  which  tribe  rejoiced  in  the  strange  tidings  revealed 
to  them  of  their  forefathers,  and  of  the  restored  gospel. 
They  were  very  friendly,  and  bade  the  Elders  God-speed  to 
the  West,  in  which  direction  the  red  men  expected  soon  to 
follow. 

Thence  the  missionaries  proceeded  to  Cincinnati  and 
St.  Louis,  where  they  met  with  little  or  no  success.  In 
passing  his  old  forest  home,  some  fifty  miles  from  Kirtland, 
Elder  Pratt  was  arrested  on  some  trivial  charge,  but  sa- 
gaciously made  his  escape.  Near  St.  Louis  they  halted,  ow- 
ing to  the  dreadful  storms.,  snow  being  three  feet  deep.  With 
the  opening  of  the  new  year,  1831,  they  continued  their 
journey,  traveling  on  foot  three  hundred  miles  through 


46  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

prairies  covered  with  trackless  wilds  of  snow,  without  shel- 
ter or  fire,  having  for  food  frozen  corn  bread  and  raw  pork. 
At  length  Independence,  Jackson  County,  in  the  extreme 
western  frontier  of  Missouri,  was  reached.  So  far,  the  mis- 
mionaries  had  been  absent  four  months,  they  had  traveled 
about  fifteen  hundred  miles,  through  a  comparative  wilder- 
ness, mostly  on  foot,  in  the  worst  season  of  the  year.  They 
had  preached  the  gospel  to  tens  of  thousands  of  their  own 
race,  and  to  two  nations  of  Indians,  besides  having  con- 
firmed many  hundreds  and  organized  them  into  branches 
of  the  Church. 

Two  of  the  brethren  remained  at  tailor  work  in  Inde- 
pendence, while  Elders  Pratt  and  Cowdery  crossed  the  fron- 
tier to  the  Indians,  tarrying  one  night  with  the  Shawnees; 
after  which  they  crossed  the  Kansas  River  to  the  Delawares. 
Seeking  the  aged  chief  of  this  nation,  a  polygamist  and 
sachem  of  ten  tribes,  the  missionaries  presented  their  mes- 
sage to  him  by  means  of  a  friendly  interpreter.  They  were 
received  kindly.  After  some  hesitancy,  on  the  part  of  the 
chief,  a  council  was  called,  and  Oliver  Cowdery  was  permit- 
ted to  address  the  Indians.  Presenting  them  with  a  copy 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  he  gave  an  account  of  its  history, 
and  of  the  restoration  of  the  gospel.  For  several  days  they 
remained  to  instruct  the  aborigines  whose  interest  became 
intense,  the  excitement  spreading  to  the  whole  tribe.  Finally 
the  ministers  and  agents  on  the  frontier  heard  of  the  ex- 
citement, and  through  them  the  Elders  were  ordered  out  of 
the  Indian  country  as  peace-disturbers,  threatened  with  mil- 
itary interference  in  case  of  non-compliance  with  the  order. 
Under  these  circumstances,  they  reluctantly  departed  from 
among  the  Indians,  returning  to  labor  among  the  white 
settlers  in  Jackson  County,  where  they  met  with  some  suc- 
cess. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  47 

At  a  council  of  the  five  Elders,  held  in  Independence, 
m  the  14th  of  February,  1831,  it  was  decided  to  send  Elder 
Pratt  east  to  report  their  labors  to  the  Prophet  Joseph. 
Departing  on  this  perilous  journey,  Elder  Pratt,  after  much 
suffering,  reached  Kirtland,  to  which  city  the  Prophet  had 
low  removed.  Upon  his  arrival  in  March,  1831,  the  Laman- 
te  missionary  was  there  greeted  with  a  hearty  reception. 

4.  REMOVAL,  OF  THE  CHURCH  TO  OHIO. 

Meantime,  the  cause  of  Mormonism  had  rapidly  pro- 
gressed in  the  east,  through  the  ministrations  of  the  Prophet 
md  his  associates.  In  the  fall  of  1830,  Joseph  had  been 
risited  by  Orson  Pratt,  also  by  Sidney  Eigdon  and  Edward 
Partridge  of  Kirtland,  which  latter  reported  the  condition 
)f  that  branch  to  the  Prophet  leader.  These  visitors  came 
;o  enquire  of  the  Prophet  what  was  the  will  of  the  Lord 
concerning  them.* 

Sidney  Eigdon  was  retained  to  assist  Joseph  as  scribe 
.n  the  inspired  revision  of  the  Holy  Bible,  which  work  was 
jegun  just  before  the  close  of  the  year  1830. 

Already,  as  we  have  seen,  it  had  been  intimated  that 
:he  West  was  the  future  field  for  Mormonism,  and  with  the 
success  of  the  Lamanite  missionaries  in  Kirtland,  it  became 
evident  to  Joseph  that  the  time  was  ripe  for  a  general  move- 
nent  of  the  Church  towards  the  land  of  their  future  des- 
iny.  The  visit  of  Sidney  Eigdon  confirmed  this  idea.  The 
site  of  the  new  "city"  had  not  yet  been  definitely  deter- 
mined, but  Kirtland  would  be  a  ^ood  resting  place,  where  a 
lourishing  Stake  of  Zion  could  be  established,  until  such  a 
time  as  God  should  reveal  the  location  of  the  Zion  which  was 
to  be  "called  the  New  Jerusalem,  a  land  of  peace,  a  city 


*  Doctrine  an<J  Covenants,  Sections  34,  35  and 


48  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

of  refuge,  a  place  of  safety  for  the  Saints  of  the  Most 
High  God."  In  Kirtland,  in  the  meantime,  the  Saints  might 
rest  and  gather  strength. 

Then  came  the  first  direct  command  for  the  Saints  to 
gather, — the  revelation  which  heralded  the  beginning  of  the 
gathering  of  Israel  in  the  latter  days.  In  it  the  Church  is 
commanded  to  "assemble  together  on  the  Ohio."*  But  before 
going,  Joseph  and  Sidney  were  first  to  preach  and  strengthen 
the  Saints  in  the  region  round  about,  and  more  especially 
in  Colesville,  where  the  Saints  were  very  faithful.  This 
was  done. 

Preparatory  to  the  emigration  westward,  in  compliance 
with  the  will  of  the  Lord,  a  farewell  gathering,  the  third 
conference  of  the  Church,  was  held  at  Fayette,  January  2, 
1831.  On  this  occasion,  all  the  affairs  of  the  Church  in  the 
east  were  settled,  or  left  with  trusted  agents  to  arrange  as 
speedily  as  possible.  During  the  conference,  the  Lord  made 
known  to  the  Saints,  through  revelation,  that  a  land  of  prom- 
ise should  be  given  them,  which  they  should  inherit  forever 
on  certain  conditions.f  In  Ohio,  m  the  meantime,  they 
were  promised  that  the  law  of  God  should  be  given  to  them, 
and  that  they  should  be  endowed  with  power  from  on  high. 

Then  the  movement  began.  Toward  the  latter  part  of 
the  month,  the  Prophet  with  his  wife,  accompanied  by  Sid- 
ney Kigdon,  Edward  Partridge,  and  others,  left  on  their  jour- 
ney to  Kirtland,  where  they  arrived  about  February  1,  1831. 
Joseph  introduced  himself  to  Mr.  Xewel  K.  Whitney  as  "Jo- 
seph the  Prophet,"  and  was  by  this  gentleman  kindly  re- 
ceived and  entertained.  For  several  weeks,  himself  and 


*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  37. 
t  Doctrine  and  Covenants.  Section    38. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  49 

wife  resided  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Whitney,  where  Joseph's 
lime  was  occupied  with  important  matters  that  pertained  to 
the  setting  of  the  Church  in  order. 

Shortly  after  the  Prophet's  arrival  in  Kirtland,  the 
Saints  in  New  York  began  to  migrate.  They  reached  their 
destination  in  May  and  June  following,  and  settled  in  the 
northern  part  of  Ohio,  principally  in  and  about  Kirtland. 
The  Ohio  Saints  were  commanded  to  receive  their  ''east- 
ern brethren,"*  and  divide  their  lands  with  them,  until  the 
Lord  should  further  direct  the  location  of  the  "city,"  their 
land  of  inheritance. 

5.    THE  LAW  OF  CONSECRATION. 

Following  the  departure  of  the  Lamanite  missionaries 
from  Kirtland,  strange  notions  and  false  spirits  had  crept 
into  The  Church  in  this  branch,  which  Joseph  now  imme- 
diately sought  to  eradicate  and  drive  out,  in  which  work  he 
soon  succeeded  by  the  exercise  of  wisdom  and  caution. 

It  appears  that  the  Campbellites,  evidently  with  a  de- 
sire to  be  like  the  early  Christians  who  had  all  things  in 
common,  had  organized  in  what  was  called  the  "common 
stock"  plan  of  living.  All  dwelt  together  as  a  family,  and 
the  "family"  nearly  all  joined  the  Church.  Joseph  induced 
them  to  abandon  this  plan  for  the  more  "perfect  law  of 
the  Lord,"  which  was  consecration,  or  the  United  Order, 
which  now  became  a  law  to  the  whole  Church. 

The  provisions  of  this  law,  in  short,  were  these:  On 
entering  the  Order,  each  individual  was  to  consecrate  all  his 
property  to  the  Bishop,  utterly  relinquishing  its  possession. 
The  Church  would  then  give  a  deed  conveying  to  such  per- 
son certain  property  as  a  stewardship  for  himself  and  fam- 


*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  48. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ily,  of  which  he  was  to  render  an  account  to  the  Bishop. 
Every  man  was  to  seek  the  interest  of  his  neighbor,  there 
was  to  be  no  idleness,  all  would  he  owners  alike,  yet  each 
steward  was  free  in  the  management  of  his  stewardship, — 
temporal  equality  was  to  be  inaugurated.  The  key-note  of 
the  order  is  thus  given  by  the  Prophet:  "It  is  not  given 
that  one  man  should  possess  that  which  is  above  another.' 
It  was  to  be  a  system  like  that  of  the  Apostles  at  Jerusa- 
lem: "The  multitude  of  them  that  believed  were  of  one 
heart  and  of  one  soul — neither  said  any  of  them  that  aught 
of  the  things  which  he  possessed  was  his  own;  but  they 
had  all  things  common/'  It  was  to  be  a  system  such  as  pre- 
vailed in  the  "City  of  Enoch :"  "the  Lord  called  his  people 
Zion,  because  they  were  of  one  heart  and  one  mind  and  dwelt 
in  righteousness,  and  there  was  no  poor  among  them."* 

The  first  movement  towards  the  establishment  of  this 
law  was  the  organization  of  the  Bishopric,  the  presidency  of 
the  Aaronic  Priesthood,  which  has  authority  to  minister  in 
temporal  things.  The  first  Bishop  called  by  revelation f  was 
Edward  Partridge,  who  "was  appointed  by  the  voice  of  the 
Church  and  ordained  a  Bishop"  on  the  4th  day  of  February, 
1831.  He  was  to  relinquish  his  business  as  merchant,  and 
spend  all  his  time  in  the  service  of  The  Church.  J 

Some  days  after  the  appointment  of  a  Bishop,  a  rev- 
elation, found  in  the  42nd  section  of  the  Book  of  Covenants, 


*  For  interesting  discussions  on  this  topic,  see  Whitney's  "History 
of  Utah,"  Vol.  1,  pp.  82-85;  Robersts'  "Uutlines  of  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory," pp.  353-356;  also  Sections  42  and  51,  Doctrine  and  Covenants. 

t  Doctrine  and  Covenants.  Section  41:   9. 

$  For  complete  organization  of  the  Bishopric  and  its  duties,  see 
Roberts'  "Outlines  of  Ecclesiastical  History,"  pp.  346-350;  also,  Doc- 
trine and  Covenants,  Section  42,  verses  30-32;  and  Section  51  verses  3-6 
and  13-18.  These  quotations  contain  also  a  general  outline  of  the  Order 
which  was  introduced  and  sought  to  be  established  among  the  Saints  in 
Kirtland,  Ohio,  and  subsequently  in  Missouri. 


A. BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  51 

was  given  in  which  the  Saints  are  taught  important  doc- 
trines concerning  the  order,  and  the  government  of  The 
Church. 

All  the  Elders,  except  the  Prophet  and  Sidney  Eigdon 
are  afterward  commanded  to  go  out,  two  by  two,  to  preach 
the  gospel,  warning  their  converts  to  flee  to  the  West.  The 
Lord  promises  to  reveal  the  location  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
in  His  own  due  time,  for  which  the  Saints  were  instructed 
to  pray. 

Thus  was  the  law  of  consecration,  the  Order  of  Enoch, 
or  the  United  Order,  given  to  the  Saints;  but  owing  to  per- 
secutions, and  to  the  selfishness,  pride  and  disobedience  of 
men,  it  was  not  permanently  founded.  With  the  Saints  it 
is  one  of  the  still  unsettled  problems  of  the  future,  since 
the  Lord  has  said  that  without  it,  Zion  cannot  be  built.* 
The  Church  failed  to  live  up  to  the  order  of  God  in  this  law, 
and  hence,  the  lesser  law  of  tithing  was  given  them  in  lieu 
thereof,  in  the  year  1838.  This  law  requires  the  person  to 
pay,  first,  his  surplus  property  to  the  Bishop,  and  after  that, 
one-tenth  of  his  annual  income.f 

6.    LOCATING  THE  LAND  ON  ZION. 

On  the  6th  day  of  June,  1831,  the  fourth  general  con- 
ference of  The  Church  was  held  in  Kirtland,  the  scattered 
Elders  attending  agreeable  to  the  call  by  revelation.  J  The 
number  of  the  Saints  had  now  swelled  to  about  two  thous- 
and souls.  Great  power  was  manifested  in  this  gathering. 
The  first  High  Priests  were  ordained,  and  the  power  of  the 
Melchizedek  Priesthood  was  more  fully  manifested  than 
had  been  the  case  heretofore.  Only  Joseph  and  Oliver,  up 

*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section   105,   verse  5. 
t  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Seection  119. 
t  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section 


52  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

to  this  time,  had  held  a  position  in  this  Priesthood  higher 
than  a  common  Elder,  which  office  is  an  appendage  to  the 
Melchizedek  Priesthood. 

Many  of  the  Elders  were  commissioned  to  go  forth, 
two  by  two,  to  preach  and  baptize,  as  did  the  Apostles 
anciently.*  They  were  to  go  upon  different  routes,  journey- 
ing towards  the  Missouri  frontier,  organizing  branches 
wherever  the  people  would  listen  to  their  gospel  message. 
They  were  to  meet  in  the  State  of  Missouri  where  the  next 
conference  of  The  Church  was  to  be  held,  and  at  which 
time,  if  faithful,  the  location  of  their  land  of  inheritance 
would  be  made  known  to  them. 

Shortly  after  the  conference,  revelations  were  received 
for  Sidney  Gilbert,  f  and  for  Newel  Knight,  the  latter  re- 
lating to  the  Colesville  branch  of  The  Church,  whose  mem- 
bers were  among  the  first  to  embrace  the  gospel,  now  tem- 
porarily located  at  Thompson,  Ohio. 

They  were  commanded  to  journey  westward,  "unto  the 
borders  of  the  Lamanites. " J  They  had  broken  the  law 
which  had  been  given  to  them  in  a  previous  revelation,  and 
.this  was  now  declared  "void  and  of  none  effect."  § 

Then  followed  revelations  for  W.  W.  Phe!ps,  after- 
ward a  prominent  member  of  The  Church,  and  Thomas  B. 
Marsh,  afterward  the  president  of  the  Twelve  Apostles, 
who  had  come  to  learn  from  the  Prophet  the  will  of  the  Lord 
concerning  them.|| 

Conforming  to  the  commandment  received  during  con- 
ference, Joseph,  in  company  with  Sidney  Kigdon,  Martin 


*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  52. 

t  Doctrine  and  Covenants.  Section  53. 

t  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  54. 

§  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  51;  also  56:  6. 

||  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Sections  55  and  56. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  63 

Harris,  Edward  Partridge,  W.  W.  Phelps,  Joseph  Coe,  and 
A.  S.  Gilbert  and  wife,  started  from  Kirtland  on  the  19th 
of  June  on  his  first  visit  to  the  land  of  Missouri.  They 
were  followed  by  the  Colesville  branch,  who  this  time  obeyed 
the  revelation.  Other  Elders  who  were  called  departed  by 
different  routes,  bound  for  the  same  destination.  Joseph's 
company,  journeying  by  wagon,  stage,  canal-boat,  steamer, 
and  on  foot,  reached  Independence,  Missiouri,  about  the 
middle  of  July.  The  meeting  with  Oliver  Cowdery  and  his 
missionary  associates  was  the  occasion  of  great  rejoicing,  and 
according  to  the  Prophet  was  "moistened  with  many  tears." 

Immediately  after  the  arrival  of  Joseph,  the  location  for 
the  City  of  Zion,  the  central  gathering  place  of  the  Saints, 
was  first  definitely  made  known.*  Independence  was  the 
chosen  site,  and  the  spot  for  the  temple  was  designated  as 
lying  westward,  on  a  lot  not  far  from  the  courthouse.  Ac- 
cording to  the  revelation,  lands  were  to  be  purchased  by  the 
Saints,  and  the  soil  in  the  region  was  to  be  dedicated  for  the 
gathering  of  Israel,  and  for  the  building  of  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem. Sidney  Gilbert  was  appointed  a  merchant,  and  an 
agent  for  land  purchases,  while  Edward  Partridge,  assisted 
by  two  counselors,  was  chosen  to  "divide  the  Saints  their 
inheritance,"  to  be  a  judge  in  Israel,  to  receive  the  conse- 
cration of  properties,  to  assign  stewardships,  and  to  receive 
the  Saints  then  on  the  way  from  Ohio. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  Sidney  Eigdon  was  called  by 
revelation  to  consecrate  and  dedicate  to  the  Lord  the  land 
of  Zion,  to  write  a  description  thereof,  and  to  prepare  "an 
epistle  and  subscription"  to  obtain  money  for  purchasing 
lands  for  an  inheritance. 

The  first  step  toward  founding  Zion  was  taken  on  the 

*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  57. 


54  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

2nd  day  of  August,  1831.  On  that  day  Joseph,  assisted  by 
eleven  other  men,  the  whole  representing  the  Twelve  Tribes 
of  Israel,  helped  to  lay  a  log  for  a  house  in  KawJTownship, 
twelve  miles  west  of  Independence,  in  which  locality  the 
newly  arrived  Saints  from  Colesville  were  settling.  Elder 
Eigdon  then  dedicated  the  land.  The  following  day,  the  3rd, 
witnessed  the  consecration  of  the  temple  site,  after  which, 
on  the  4th,  the  fifth  conference  of  The  Church  (the  first 
in  Zion)  was  held  at  the  house  of  Joshua  Lewis,  in  Kaw 
Township,  most  of  the  Saints  being  r>resent.  Eevelations 
were  given  repeating  some  of  the  ten  commandments,  also 
concerning  the  Sabbath,  and  the  return  of  certain  Elders  to 
Kirtland,  among  whom  were  Joseph  Smith,  Oliver  Cowder}, 
and  Sidney  Eigdon.* 

Complying  with  the  word  of  the  Lord,  the  Prophet, 
in  company  with  ten  Elders,  left  for  the  East,  on  the  9th 
day  of  August.  During  the  interesting  and  eventful  journey, 
two  revelations  were  given  which  were  full  of  counsel  and 
instruction  to  the  brethren,  f 

On  the  27th  they  arrived  safe  and  well  in  Kirtland. 

Thus  was  Zion  located  and  dedicated  on  the  western 
border  line  of  civilization,  a  colony  planted  therein,  a  tem- 
ple site  selected,  and  a  migratory  stream  of  Saints  set  in 
motion  in  the  direction  of  the  "promised  land."  In  this 
practically  untrodden  West,  the  Saints  hoped  to  establish 
themselves  in  the  City  of  their  God,  but  they  were  destined 
to  disappointment  and  much  tribulation.  J 


*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Sections  59  and  60. 
t  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Sections  61  and  62. 
t  Foretold  in  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  58,  verses  2-5. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  55 

7.    PROGRESS  IN  KIRTLAND  AND  THE  EAST. 

The  prophet,  assisted  by  Sidney  Kigdon,  soon  after 
turned  his  attention  to  the  revision  of  the  Scriptures,  which 
work  had  been  stopped  since  the  previous  December.  For 
this  purpose,  he  retired,  with  his  wife  and  two  infants,  twins, 
which  they  had  adopted  in  place  of  twins  of  their  own  that 
had  died,  to  the  quiet  little  town  of  Hiram,  in  Portage  Coun- 
ty, on  September  12,  1831.  They  made  their  residence  with 
John  Johnson,  a  member  of  The  Church,  the  father  of  the 
future  Apostles,  Luke  S.  and  Lyman  E.  Johnson,  and  father- 
in-law  to  Orson  Hyde,  later  also  an  Apostle. 

While  pursuing  his  literary  labors  in  this  quiet  retreat, 
Joseph  received  many  important  revelations  for  the  guid- 
ance of  the  Church.  "The  Lord's  Preface  to  the  Book  of 
Commandments,"  and  the  revelation  called  the  "Appendix"' 
were  given  in  November.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  same 
month,  Oliver  Cowdery  and  John  Whitmer  departed  for 
Jackson  County,  whither  W.  W.  Phelps  had  preceded  them 
for  the  purpose  of  preparing  to  print  the  book  of  Doctrine 
and  Covenants,  and  other  publications.  Interesting  doc- 
trines were  about  this  time  revealed  explaining  the  Eevela- 
tions  of  St.  John,*  and  the  meaning  of  verse  14,  chapter 
vii,  Paul's  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  f  etc. ;  likewise 
instructions  concerning  the  Bishopric  of  the  Church.  J  On 
the  fourth  day  of  December,  a  second  Bishop,  Newel  K. 
Whitney,  was  chosen  for  the  Kirtland  Stake  of  Zion. 

Teachings  were  enunciated  upon  which  are  based  a 
number  of  the  religious  doctrines  of  the  Latter-day  Saints. 


*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  77. 
t  Doctrine  and  Covenants.  Section  74. 
'  $  Doctrine  and  Covenants',  Sections  68  and  72. 


56  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

In  the  "Vision"*  is  set  forth  the  doctrine  of  universal  sal- 
vation, in  different  degrees  of  glory  for  all  men  save  the 
"sons  of  perdition/'  upon  the  condition  of  justice  and  mercy, 
according  to  their  faithfulness  and  obedience  to  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  each  person  being  judged  according  to  his  works,  and 
receiving  according  to  his  knowledge  and  merits. 
Little  Children  are  saved  by  the  b^od  of  Christ. 
For  the  heathen  who  died  without  law,  there  is 
hope;  and  even  for  the  wicked,  who  are  "thrust 
down  to  hell/'  there  is  escape,  after  they  have  paid 
"the  uttermost  farthing"  in  God's  eternal  punishment,  which 
does  not  necessarily  mean  never-ending  punishment,  but 
punishment  inflicted  by  the  Eternal  One.  There  were  spir- 
its kept  in  the  prison  house  beyond,  whom  the  Son  visited, 
preaching  to  them  the  gospel.  They  would  have  the  priv- 
ilege of  receiving  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  and,  accepting  it, 
be  judged  according  to  men  in  the  flesh. 

Besides  continuing  his  literary  labors,  the  Prophet  took 
active  part  in  the  ministry,  attending  a  number  of  confer- 
ences, and  instructing  The  Church  verbally  and  by  written 
epistles.  The  while,  persecution  did  not  abate.  Ezra  Booth, 
who  had  apostatized,  was  at  this  time  writing  his  series  of 
nine  letters  in  the  Ohio  Star,  against  Joseph  and  the  Mor- 
mons. They  were  the  means  of  creating  great  prejudice 
against  the  Prophet  and  his  cause,  and  not  that  alone,  but 
persecution  also.  He  and  Sidney  Kigdon  were  brutally 
treated  by  a  mob,  at  Hiram,  on  the  nidit  of  March  25,  1832. 
Joseph  was  stripped,  covered  with  tar,  beaten,  and  an  at- 
tempt was  also  made  to  force  a  bottle  of  aqua  fortis  down  his 
throat.  The  next  day,  though  scarred  and  wounded,  found 
him  preaching  to  a  large  congregation,  many  of  whom  had 

*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  76. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  57 

assisted  in  mistreating  him  the  previous  night.  That  day 
he  baptized  three  new  converts  Sidney  Eigdon  was  delirious 
for  some  time  after  the  outrage.  But  the  mobocratic  feel- 
ing became  so  rampant  that  the  Prophet  considered  it  wis- 
dom to  leave. 

He  then  departed  on  his  second  visit  to  Missouri,  in 
April,  being  joined  on  the  way  by  Sidney  Eigdon  and  Bish- 
op Whitney.  They  took  a  circuitous  rout  to  avoid  the  mob. 
Before  Emma  left  Hiram,,  one  of  the  twins  died  as  a  result 
of  exposure  on  the  night  of  the  outrage  upon  her  husband. 
This  little  one  may  be  called  the  first  martyr  in  The  Church. 

On  his  arrival  in  Independence,  Missouri,  April  24th, 
the  Prophet  was  well  received  by  the  Saints,  but  was  pained 
to  learn  that  their  enemies  were  already  beginning  to  heap 
upon  them  insults  and  annoyances  that  were  to  end  in  their 
cruel  exile  from  Jackson  County. 

Having  visited  and  instructed  among  the  Saints,  re- 
ceived two  important  revelations,  *  ordered  three  thousand 
copies  of  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants  printed,  and  been 
acknowledged  as  president  of  the  High  Priesthood — to  which 
office  he  had  been  ordained  at  the  seventh  general  confer- 
ence of  The  Church,  in  Amherst,  Ohio,  on  January  25th — 
Joseph  and  his  two  companions  again  started  on  a  trip  to 
Kirtland  early  in  May.  In  Indiana,  Bishop  Whitney  broke 
his  leg,  which  delayed  them  one  month  in  Greenville.  At 
this  place  an  attempt  was  made  to  poison  the  Prophet,  and 
he  narrowly  escaped  death. 

Arriving  in  Kirtland,  sometime  in  June,  Joseph  spent 
the  season  working  upon  the  revision  of  the  scriptures. 
His  son  Joseph,  now  leader  of  the  Josephite,  or  re-organized 
church,  was  born  on  the  3rd  of  November  of  that  year.  In 

*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Sections  82  and  83. 


58  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

December,  the  "revelation  and  prophesy  on  war"*  was  re- 
corded, which  the  Latter-day  Saints  claim  was  literally  ful- 
filled in  the  great  conflict  between  the  Northern  and  the 
Southern  states  of  the  Union — the  civil  war. 

Morinonism  continued  to  prosper,  branches  being  found- 
ed in  various  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1832-3,  the  school  of  the  prophets  was  es- 
tablished, and  a  temple  at  Kirtland  was  projected,  the  corner 
stones  of  which  were  laid  on  the  23rd  of  July  following. 
The  revision  of  the  New  Testament  was  completed  on  the 
2nd  of  February,  1833,  and  the  manuscript  sealed  to  be 
opened  in  Zion. 

.  Several  revelations  of  great  consequence  to  The  Church, 
among  them  that  on  the  Word  of  Wisdom,  were  made 
known,  f 

On  the  18th  day  of  March,  1833,  the  First  Presidency, 
the  highest  presiding  quorum  in  The  Church,  was  first 
organized,  with  the  following  personnel:  Joseph  Smith, 
president;  Sidney  Kigdon,  first  counselor;  Frederick  G.  Wil- 
liams, second  counselor. 

Prosperity  smiled  upon  the  cause  in  Kirtland  and  the 
east.  Over  $11,000  worth  of  land  was  purchased,  upon 
which  the  Saints  were  to  build  and  beautify  the  city,  sur- 
named  "Shinehah,"J  while  awaiting  further  developments 
in  Missouri,  "the  land  of  Zion."  Workshops,  mills,  and  pub- 
lic buildings  were  erected,  and  various  industries  established. 

8.  EXPULSION  FROM  JACKSON  COUNTY. 

In  the  midst  of  this  prosperity,  Oliver  Cowdery  arrived 
in  Kirtland  in  the  beginning  of  September,  1833,  a  messen- 

*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section   87. 

t  See   Doctrine   and   Covenants    Sections  88  and  92. 

$  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  104:  21. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  59 

ger  from  the  Saints  in  Missouri,  bringing  the  sad  news  of 
the  serious  disturbances  and  persecutions  in  Jackson  County. 

There  were  now  about  twelve  hundred  Saints  in  Mis- 
souri, which  number  was  being  augmented  constantly  by 
immigration.  They  had  improved  their  purchased  lands, 
established  industries,  reaped  rich  harvests;  they  had  a  paper 
called  the  Evening  and  Morning  Star,  edited  by  W.  W. 
Phelps,  established  in  June,  1832;  Parley  P.  Pratt  presided 
over  a  school  of  sixty  Elders,  and  the  gospel  was  being 
preached  to  the  people  thereabouts  with  success.  The  Saints 
were  thrifty,  industrious,  tended  their  own  affairs;  in  short, 
"minded  their  own  business,"  a  standard  creed  with  the  Mor- 
mons. They  doubtless  had  faults,  and  some  were  indiscreet. 
Blinded  by  their  own  ideas,  perhaps  others  said  things  that 
were  not  wise,  gave  utterance  to  sentiments  which  offended 
the  people  not  of  their  faith;  but  where  such  was  the  case, 
it  was  in  violation  of  the  teachings  of  their  religion  which 
inculcates  the  principles  of  living  at  peace  with  all  men. 
They  were  law-abiding  and  peaceable  citizens. 

There  being  no  law  that  would  rid  their  enemies  of  the 
Mormons,  it  was  wickedly  determined  that  this  should  be 
done  without  law.  As  early  as  April  of  this  year,  a  meeting 
was  called  to  devise  means  as  to  the  best  way  to  dispose  of 
the  Mormons.  That  gathering  was  unsuccessful,  but  an- 
other, held  about  the  middle  of  July  succeeded.  At  this 
meeting  in  Independence,  some  three  hundred  persons  met 
to  devise  a  plan  for  expelling  the  Saints.  They  signed  a  dec- 
laration accusing  the  Mormons  of  blasphemy,  pretensions  to 
miracles,  and  healing  the  sick,  casting  out  devils,  and  tamper- 
ing with  the  negro  slaves  and  the  Indians,  and  declaring 
the  Indian  country  to  be  theirs  by  heavenly  inheritance. 
Later,  at  a  meeting  of  five  hundred  of  the  mob,  on  the  20th, 


60  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

the  above  charges  were  reiterated,  others  being  added,  and  it 
was  resolved  that  the  Mormons  leave  the  country  forthwith, 
that  no  Mormon  be  allowed  to  settle  there  in  the  future,  and 
that  the  printing  of  the  Star  be  suspended.  A  committee 
was  appointed  to  inform  the  Mormon  leaders  of  this  decision. 
The  latter  asked  for  time  to  consider.  This  only  aroused 
the  fury  of  the  mob,  who  immediately  gathered  around  the 
printing  office,  tore  it  down  and  scattered  the  material 
through  the  street.  Other  outrages  followed.  Bishop  Part- 
ridge was  covered  with  tar  and  feathers,  and  others  of  the 
Saints  were  threatened  and  abused.  Clergymen  and  other 
prominent  citizens  took  part  in  these  lawless  acts.  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor L.  W.  Boggs  said  to  some  of  the  Mormons: 
"You  now  know  what  our  Jackson  County  boys  can  do,  and 
you  must  leave  the  country." 

Three  days  after  these  outrages  were  committed,  an- 
other larger  meeting  was  held,  another  committee  chosen. 
Realizing  that  their  liberties  were  lost,  that  it  was  useless 
to  withstand  the  rioters,  the  Saints  entered  into  a  peace 
agreement  with  the  mob.  They  would  leave  the  country — • 
one-half  of  them  on  January  1,  1834,  and  the  remainder  on 
April  1st.  The  Star  would  be  suspended;  immigration 
would  cease.  In  return  for  these  concessions,  the  mob  com- 
mittee agreed,  and  the  action  was  ratified  by  the  meeting, 
that  the  Saints  should  be  molested  no  more. 

This  was  in  substance  the  message  that  Oliver  Cowdery 
carried  to  Kirtland.  In  reply,  the  Prophet  sent  an  epistle 
and  messengers  to  comfort  and  advise  the  people  in  their 
unfortunate  circumstances,  but  when  they  arrived  in  Mis- 
souri, in  the  latter  part  of  September,  they  found  that  the 
mob  had  broken  its  pledge,  and  fresh  outrages  against  the 
Saints  were  in  progress. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  61 

"The  Mormons  must  go/5  was  the  general  cry.  The 
Saints  appealed  to  the  State  executive  for  military  aid  in 
vain.  That  functionary  advised  them  to  try  the  law.  Fol- 
lowing his  advice  brought  only  disaster.  It  was  like  apply- 
ing fire  to  powder.  Soon  the  whole  country  rose  in  arms 
to  make  war  upon  the  unfortunate,  peculiar  people.  It  was 
on  the  30th  and  31st  of  October,  and  the  1st  of  November 
that  the  most  furious  attacks  were  made.  Men  were  beaten, 
houses  unroofed,  property  destroyed,  women  and  children 
driven  screaming  into  the  wilderness. 

Four  of  the  Saints  went  to  a  circuit  judge  for  a  peace 
warrant,  but  were  told  that  it  would  not  be  issued  for  fear 
of  the  mob.  The  judge  advised  them  to  "shoot  down''  the 
outlaws,  if  these  came  again  upon  them.  At  the  next  on- 
slaught, the  Saints  prepared  to  carry  out  this  advice,  not- 
withstanding their  repugnance  to  the  taking  of  human  life. 
On  the  4th  of  November,  a  battle  ensued.  One  Mormon 
was  killed,  several  were  wounded,  and  two  mobbers  bit  the 
dust.  A  general  Mormon  "uprising"  was  now  heralded 
abroad.  On  November  5th,  Lieutenant-Governor  Boggs  or- 
dered out  the  militia  to  suppress  the  alleged  insurrection. 
This  only  made  matters  worse.  The  mob  was  permitted  to 
obtain  what  had  been  denied  to  the  Saints — the  militia. 
Boggs  permitted  the  mob  to  enroll  themselves  among  the 
troops.  He  demanded  that  the  Mormons  lay  down  their 
arms,  and  he  seized  a  number  of  them  to  be  tried  for  mur- 
der, telling  the  remainder  to  leave  the  countrv.  To  do  this 
they  had  no  time.  Col.  Pitcher,  afterward  court-martialed 
for  his  cruelty,  turned  his  mob-militia  upon  the  disarmed 
and  helpless  Saints;  then  followed  scenes  beggaring  descrip- 
tion. "Armed  bands  of  ruffians  ranged  the  country  in  every 
direction,  bursting  into  houses,  terrifying  women  and  chil- 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

dren  and  threatening  the  defenseless  people  with  death  if 
they  did  not  instantly  flee.  -  *  *  *  Out  upon  the 
bleak  prairies,  along  the  Missouri's  banks,  chilled  by  Novem- 
ber's winds  and  drenched  by  pouring  rains,  hungry  and  shel- 
terless, weeping  and  heart-broken,  wandered  forth  the  ex- 
iles. Families  scattered  and  divided,  husbands  seeking 
wives,  wives  husbands,  parents  searching  for  their  children, 
not  knowing  if  they  were  yet  alive."* 

Thus  were  between  twelve  and  fifteen  hundred  souls 
expelled  from  their  homes  and  possessions  in  Jackson 
County,  three  hundred  of  their  houses  burned,  ten  settle- 
ments left  desolate.  Most  of  the  exiles  found  refuge  in 
Clay  County,  just  across  the  river,  where  they  were  kindly 
received. 

The  highest  authorities  in  the  state  and  nation  were 
asked  for  redress,  but  the  nation's  executive  could  not  in- 
terfere without  petition  from  the  state  authorities,  and  the 
state  authorities  would  do  nothing  because  they  were  either 
in  fear  of  or  in  sympathy  with  the  mob.  Leading,  fair- 
minded  citizens  regarded  the  outrage  as  a  grave  stain  upon 
the  name  of  Missouri,  but  all  in  vain;  to  this  day,  without 
recompense,  the  Saints  remain  dispossessed  of  their  right- 
ful inheritance  in  their  promised  Zion. 

9.    HIGH  COUNCIL  ORGANIZED. 

In  the  latter  part  of  November,  messengers  arrived  in 
Kirtland  giving  details  of  the  outrages  that  had  been  com- 
mitted in  Missouri.  At  this  time,  all  was  not  peace  in  Kirt- 
land. The  Prophet  had  been  harassed  with  law  suits,  and 
fears  were  even  entertained  for  his  life,  so  much  so  that 
trusty  friends  guarded  him  night  and  d.aj.  There  were  va- 


*  Whitney's  "History  of  Utah,"  Vol.  T.,  p.  108. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  63 

rious  other  annoyances,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the 
strife  which  Dr.  Hurlburt,  with  his  lying  stories,  succeeded 
in  arousing  by  lecturing  in  various  places  round  about.  This 
Dr.  Hurlburt  had  been  excommunicated  from  the  Church 
for  immoral  conduct;  he  it  was  who  originated  the  theory 
of  connecting  the  Book  of  Mormon  with  the  Spaulding  story, 
a  theory  now  recognized  as  false  by  the  best  authorities  out- 
side of  The  Church,  and  of  course  always  known  and  de- 
clared to  be  false  by  members  of  The  Church.* 

It  was  now  decided  to  establish  the  printing  press  in 
Kirtland.  Oliver  Cowdery  became  editor  of  the  Star. 

On  the  17th  of  February,  1834,  an  important  step  was 
taken.  On  that  day  the  first  High  Council  of  The  Church 
was  organized,  f  It  was  composed  of  twelve  High  Priests, 
over  whom  three  others  of  the  same  order  were  to  preside. 
There  is  now  a  High  Council  in  each  of  the  fifty  Stakes  of 
Zion,  each  of  which  is  presided  over  by  the  Presidency  of 
the  Stake J — three  High  Priests  who  are  themselves  amen- 
able to  the  First  Presidency  of  The  Church. 

*  President  James  H.  Fairchild,  in  the  "New  York  Observer"  of 
February  5th,  1885,  speaking  of  the  discovery  by  Mr.  Rice  of  the 
Spaulding-  Romance,  says:  "The  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon  in  the  traditional  manuscript  of  Solomon  Spaulding  will  prob- 
ably have  to  be  relinquished.  *  *  *  Mr.  Rice,  myself  and  others 
compared  it  (the  Spaulding  manuscript)  with  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and 
could  detect  no  resemblance  between  the  two  in  general  or  detail. 
There  seems  to  be  no  name  or  incident  common  to  the  two.  *  * 
Some  other  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  must  be 
found,  if  any  explanation  is  required." 

For  a  complete  history  of  the  "Manuscript  Found,"  see  statements 
of  President  Joseph  F.  Smith,  Improvement  Era,  Vol.  3,  pp.  241,  377, 

t  For  the  names  of  the  High  Priests  composing  this  Council,  and 
the  duties  of  High  Councils  in  general,  see  Doctrine  and  Covenants, 
Section  102. 

%  A  "Stake  is  a  division  of  the  Church  presided  over  by  a  Council 
of  three  High  Priests;  a  "Ward"  is  a  division  of  a  Stake,  in  which  a 
Bishop  and  his  two  Counselors  exercise  supervision;  a  "District"  is 
a  subdivision  of  a  Ward  in  which  presiding  Teachers  look  after  the 
interests  of  Church  members. 


64  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  duty  of  this  council  is  to  adjust  difficulties  be- 
tween members  of  The  Church,  which  have  been  brought 
up  on  appeal  from  the  ward  bishop's  court  by  the  "district*' 
Teachers.  The  High  Council  has  also  original  jurisdiction. 
The  Council  was  appointed  by  revelation,  and  the  object  of 
its  organization  is  to  prevent  strife  and  disunion,  to  assist 
the  members  of  The  Church  to  adjust  their  difficulties 
without  costly  litigation  which  the  Mormon  leaders  do  not 
favor  among  their  followers.  Excommunication  from  The 
Church  is  the  extreme  penalty  decreed  by  this  Council,  while 
suspension  from  membership,  or  from  the  privileges  of 
Church  communion,  and  in  certain  cases  excommunication, 
is  the  greatest  punishment  inflicted  by  the  bishop's  court. 

The  order  of  adjusting  difficulties,  then,  in  The  Church 
between  members  is  this:  If  a  person  offend  another,  the 
person  so  offended  shall  go  alone  to  the  one  who  gave  of- 
fense, and  tell  him  of  his  fault;  if  the  offender  confess,  the 
offended  shall  be  reconciled;  if  not,  then  witnesses  shall  be 
taken,  and  if  still  there  is  no  reconciliation,  then  the  mat- 
ter may  be  taken  to  the  bishop's  court  for  settlement.  From 
this  court  either  party  may  make  an  appeal  to  the  High 
Council,  whose  decision  is  final,  and  if  not  complied  with, 
results  in  the  guilty  party  losing  his  standing  in  The 
Church.* 

1O.    ZION'S  CAMP. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1834,  Parley  P.  Pratt  and  Ly- 
man  Wight,  messengers  from  the  Saints  in  Missouri,  came 
to  Kirtland  to  counsel  with  the  Prophet  regarding  the  ex- 
iled people  of  Zion,  and,  if  possible,  adopt  some  measure  for 
their  relief  and  the  restoration  of  their  rights.  The  result  of 


*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  42,  verses  88  to  91.    Roberts'  Ec- 
clesiastical History,"  pp.  386-389.    Matt,   xviii,  15-17. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  65 

their  visit  was  a  further  mission  East,  for  reasons  set  forth 
in  the  101st  and  103rd  sections  of  the  Doctrine  and  Cove- 
nants; and  finally,  the  assembling  of  about  two  hundred  men, 
with  twenty  wagons  laden  with  supplies,  to  carry  provisions 
to  the  Saints  in  Missouri,  to  reinforce  and  strengthen  them, 
and  if  possible  to  influence  the  Governor  to  restore  to  them 
their  rights.  They  were  also  to  "redeem  Zion,"  or,  in  other 
words,  seek  to  regain  possession  of  the  lands  from  which 
they  had  been  driven  in  Jackson  County.  This  company  of 
men  were  organized  as  a  military  body,  led  by  the  Prophet 
in  person,  as  general,  and  was  known  as  Zion's  Camp. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  one  hundred  men  departed  from 
Kirtland  for  Missouri,  and  the  remainder,  to  the  number  of 
two  hundred  and  five,  were  recurited  on  the  way.  Composed 
of  the  young  and  middle-aged  men — the  strength  of  branch- 
es of  The  Church  in  the  East — there  were  many  Elders 
in  this  expedition  who  afterwards  became  pillars  of  great 
strength  in  The  Church.  Among  the  most  prominent  of 
these  may  be  named  Brigham  Young,  Heber  C.  Kimball, 
Wilford  Woodruff,  Orson  Pratt,  Jedediah  M.  Grant  and 
George  A.  Smith. 

The  news  of  their  coming,  supplemented  with  exagger- 
ated reports  of  their  strength  and  intentions,  created  con- 
siderable excitement  in  Missouri.  Their  enemies  armed  to 
attack  them.  One  night  on  Fishing  Eiver,  the  Camp  was 
saved  from  their  foes  by  a  severe  storm  which  swelled  the 
stream  so  that  it  became  impassable.  Military  aid  was  sought 
from  the  Governor,  who  at  first  seems  to  have  promised  to 
call  out  the  militia  to  reinstate  the  exiles,  but  afterward 
said  that  he  had  no  authority  to  keep  a  force  to  protect 
them  after  they  were  restored;  which,  in  other  words,  meant 
a  refusal  to  do  anything  for  them.  Afterward,  prominent 


66  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

citizens  visited  the  Camp,  and  learned  that  the  Prophet's  in- 
tentions were  peaceable.  He  .only  wished  to  amicably  adjust 
the  difficulties  between  the  county  and  his  followers. 

Among  the  members  of  the  Camp,  at  one  time,  dis- 
sensions arose,  and  for  their  disobedience  and  rebellions  the 
Prophet  severely  reprimanded  some  of  •  them,  predicting 
that  a  scourge  would  come  upon  the  Camp  because  of  their 
folly.  On  the  22nd  of  June,  cholera  broke  out  in  their  midst, 
in  fulfillment  of  his  prediction.  Sixt)r-eight  were  attacked, 
thirteen  died. 

At  Eush  Creek,  on  the  25th  of  June,  the  Camp  was 
disbanded,  having  apparently  accomplished  nothing  of  im- 
portance. Negotiations  were  entered  into  between  the  Mor- 
mon leaders  and  the  men  of  Jackson  County.  The  latter 
offered  to  purchase  the  land  from  which  the  Saints  had  been 
driven,  but  the  Mormons  declined,  deeming  it  sacrilege  to 
dispose  of  their  "sacred  inheritance."  Then  the  Saints  made 
a  counter  proposal  to  purchase  the  land  of  those  who  did  not 
wish  to  live  neighbors  to  them  in  peace,  promising  that  it 
would  be  paid  for  within  a  year.  This  offer  their  opponents 
rejected,  intimating  that  it  would  be  better  for  them  to  look 
for  a  new  home  in  the  wilderness  beyond  the  distant  County 
of  Clinton. 

For  their  possessions  in  Jackson  County,  the  Saints 
received  nothing  but  threats  and  beatings.  In  Clay,  they 
found  a  peaceful  home  where  they  prospered  for  about  three 
years,  during  which  time  affairs  in  Kirtland  were  shaping 
for  rich  spiritual  blessings,  as  well  as  for  the  fearful  financial 
crash  and  apostasy  of  1837,  which  came  near  culminating 
in  the  destruction  of  The  Church. 

The  Prophet  and  his  associates  returned  to  Kirtland 
on  the  9th  of  July,  1834,  after  having  organized,  on  the  3rd 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  67 

inst.,  a  High  Council  in  Clay  Countv,  with  a  Stake  Presi- 
dency to  take  charge  of  Church  affairs  in  Missouri.* 

11.    APOSTLES  AND  SEVENTIES  CHOSEN. 

If  it  be  conceded  that  Zion's  Camp  failed  in  accom- 
plishing the  ostensible  purposes  for  which  it  was  organized, 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  it  was  a  success  in  trying  the 
mettle  of  its  members*  A  journey  of  over  two  thousand 
miles  on  foot,  in  rain  and  mud,  exposed  lo  sickness  and 
death,  is  sufficient  to  prove  the  temperament,  courage  and 
fortitude  of  any  person  who  may  engage  in  it.  Possibly  this 
was  one  of  the  objects  the  Prophet  had  in  view,  as  might 
be  inferred  from  the  next  important  measure  which  he  was 
inspired  to  adopt — the  choosing  of  the  Twelve  Apostles, 
the  quorum  next  in  authority  to  the  First  Presidency. 

On  the  14th  of  February,  1835,  the  survivors  of  Zion's 
Camp  were  called  together,  and  from  their  numbers  were 
chosen,  by  the  Three  Witnesses  to  the  Book  of  Mormon, 
Twelve  Apostles,  each  of  whom  was  blessed  and  set  apart  by 
the  First  Presidency,  the  whole  being  in  conformity  with  the 
word  of  the  Lord  received  as  early  as  June,  1829.  f 

The  names  of  the  quorum  of  Twelve  were:  Thomas 
B.  Marsh,  David  W.  Patten,  Brigham  Young,  Heber  C. 
Kimball,  Orson  Hyde,  Wm.  E.  McLellin,  Parley  P.  Pratt, 
Luke  Johnson,  William  Smith,  Orson  Pratt,  John  F.  Boyn- 
ton,  and  Lyman  Johnson.  These  were  chosen  as  special 
witnesses  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
and  the  duty  of  the  quorum,  besides,  was,  as  it  is  now,  to 


*  The  Stake  Presidency  were :  David  Whitmer,  Wm.  W.  Phelps 
and  John  Whitmer. 

The  members  of  the  High  Council:  Simeon  Carter,  Parley  P.  Pratt, 
William  E.  McLellin,  Calvin  Beebe,  Levi  Jackman,  Solomon  Hancock, 
Christian  Whitmer,  Newel  Knight.  Orson  Pratt,  Lyman  Wight,  Thom- 
as B.  Marsh  and  John  Murdock. 

t  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section   18:   27-29. 


68  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

build  up  The  Church,  to  regulate  its  affairs  under  the  First 
Presidency,  to  ordain  and  set  in  order  all  the  officers  in  The 
Church,  and  to  call  upon  the  Seventy  to  assist  them  to  fill 
calls  for  preaching  and  administering  the  gospel.  They  form 
a  quorum  equal  in  authority  and  power  to  the  First  Pres- 
idency, and  stand  next  to  them  in  presiding.* 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  Twelve,  the  First 
and  Second  quorums  of  Seventies  were  likewise  chosen  from 
the  surviving  memhers  of  Zion's  Camp.  "These  quorums, 
as  would  be  inferred  from  their  being  called  Seventies' 
quorums,  consist  of  seventy  men.  Seven  presidents  preside 
over  each  quorum,  and  the  first  seven  presidents — the  presi- 
dents of  the  first  quorum — preside  over  all  the  quorums  of 
Seventies  in  the  Church."t  Up  to  September,  1901,  there 
had  been  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  quorums  of  this  class 
organized  in  The  Church.J  The  139th  quorum  of  Seventies 
was  organized  on  September  8,  1901,  in  the  recently  organ- 
ized Big  Horn  Stake  of  Zion,  Wyoming,  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  more  will  continue,  if  it  be  required,  "even  until 
there  are  one  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  thus 
set  apart  for  the  ministry."  § 

Early  in  May,  the  Twelve  started  upon  their  first 
mission  to  the  Eastern  States.  The  duties  devolving  upon 
them  were  to  preach,  baptize,  advise  the  scattered  Saints  to 
gather  westward;  and  to  collect  means  for  the  purchase  of 


*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  107,  verses  23  to  40  and  58,  in 
which  section  is  also  found  information  regarding  the  duties  and 
powers  of  the  various  councils  and  quorums  of  the  Priesthood  that 
govern  the  temporal  and  spiritual  affairs  of  The  Church. 

t  Roberts'    "Outlines    of   Ecclesiastical  History,"  p.  368. 

J  The  139th  quorum  of  Seventies  was  organized  on  September  8,  1901, 
in  the  recently  organized  Big  Horn  Stake  of  Zion,  Wyoming. 

§  So  writes  the  Prophet  Joseph,  under  date  of  May  2,  1835. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  69 

lands  in  Missouri,  and  for  the  completion  of  the  Kirtland 
Temple. 

About  this  time,  various  secular  and  religious  schools 
were  established,  which  were  widely  attended  by  the  lead- 
ing Elders.  In  the  winter  of  1835-36,  Mr.  Joshua  Seixas 
conducted  a  class  in  Greek,  concerning  the  progress  of  which 
Joseph  said  that  the  Lord  had  opened  their  minds  in  a  mar- 
velous manner  to  understand  His  word  in  the  original  lan- 
guage. The  Prophet  had  great  taste  for  education,  and, 
though  unlearned  at  first,  at  the  age  of  thirty,  he  became 
quite  proficient  in  language,  philosophy  and  statesmanship. 
He  was  ever  a  staunch  friend  of  progress  and  enlighten- 
ment, which  may  with  equal  truth  be  said  of  his  successors, 
and  the  leaders  of  The  Church  in  general,  though  the  ene- 
mies of  Mormonism  aver  the  contrary,  often  asserting  that 
the  system  fosters  ignorance  and  is  opposed  to  education. 
The  educational  precepts  of  the  Prophet,  which  have  become 
mottoes-in-practice  with  every  Latter-day  Saint,  give  the 
lie  to  their  assertions:  "It  is  impossible  to  be  saved  in  ig- 
norance ;"  "A  man  is  saved  no  faster  than  he  gets  knowl- 
edge;" "The  glory  of  God  is  intelligence;"  "Seek  yet  out 
of  the  best  books  words  of  wisdom;  seek  learning  even  by 
study  and  also  by  faith/" 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  "Book  of  Abraham/' 
printed  subsequently  in  the  Pearl  of  Great  Price,  was  trans- 
lated from  papyrus  found  in  the  catacombs  of  Egypt.*  In 


*  "On  the  3rd  of  July,  1835,  Michael  H.  Chandler  came  to  Kirtland 
to  exhibit  some  Egyptian  mummies.  There  were  four  human  figures, 
together  with  some  two  or  more  rolls  of  papyrus  covered  with  hiero- 
glyphic figures  and  devices.  Soon  after  this,  some  of  the  Saints  in  Kirt- 
land purchased  the  mummies  and  the  papyrus,  and  I,  with  W.  W. 
Phelps  and  O.  Cowdery  as  scribes,  commenced  the  translation  of  some 
of  the  characters  or  hieroglyph!  s,  and,  much  to  our  joy,  found  that  one 
of  the  rolls  contained  the  writings  of  Abraham,  ..another  the  writings 
of  Joseph  of  Egypt,  etc.,  a  more  full. account  of  which  will  appear 
in  thier  place  as  I  proceed  to  examine— and  unfold  them."— History  of 
Joseph  Smith.  December,  1835,  in  Millennial  Star,  Vol.  XV. 


70  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

August,  1835,  the  Prophet  enunciated  the  views  of  him- 
self and  his  people  on  civil  government,  found  in  full  in  the 
134th  section  of  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants. 

Immediately  upon  the  return  of  the  members  of  Zion's 
Camp,  the  work  on  the  temple  in  Kirtland,  which  had  heen 
hindered  by  their  absence,  was  prosecuted  with  vigor  and 
zeal,  the  Saints  being  anxious  to  receive  the  spiritual  bless- 
ings which  had  been  promised  them  upon  the  completion  of 
the  House  of  the  Lord.*  The  Prophet  supervised  the  work, 
while  leading  Elders  joined  in  pushing  it  to  completion.  It 
was  finally  dedicated  on  the  27th  of  March,  1836,  though  not 
entirely  finished  in  the  interior.  Three  years  had  been  spent 
in  its  construction  which  had  cost  about  $70,000.  It  was  the 
first  temple  in  modern  times  built  by  divine  command.  At 
that  time  the  ordinance  of  baptism  for  the  dead,  with  other 
vicarious  work,  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  temnle-building 
with  the  Saints  at  present,  had  not  been  revealed.  For  that 
reason  there  was  no  baptismal  font  in  the  Kirtland  temple. 
The  main  purpose  of  its  erection  was  that  other  religious  or- 
dinances might  be  performed  therein,  and  that  there  might 
be  a  House  of  the  Lord  in  which  spiritual  blessings  could  be 
received,  a  place  also  for  schools,  meetings  and  councils  of 
the  Priesthood. 

Upon  the  day  of  its  dedication,!  there  was  a  time  of 
general  rejoicing,  and  thereafter  many  miraculous  manifes- 
tations were  witnessed  therein,  J  some  of  which  are  named 
in  the  110th  section  of  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  and 
are  in  fulfillment  of  the  words  of  the  Prophet  as  recorded 


*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section   105,    verses  12  and   18;    also   Sec- 
tion 38,  verse  32. 

t  For  the  dedicatory  prayer,  see  ibid,  Section  109. 
$  See  Jenson's  "Historical  Record,"  pp.  64-5  and  74-80. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  71 

in  the  4th  chapter  of  Malachi.  Some  time  after  the  dedi- 
cation, according  to  the  words  of  the  Lord,  the  Twelve 
Apostles  held  the  "Solemn  Assembly/'  were  endowed  with 
power  from  on  high,  and  received  their  "washings  and  an- 
ointings." 

1 2.    DEPARTURE  FROM  CLAY  COUNTY.-KIRTLAND  APOSTASY 
AND  FAILURE.— ENGLISH  MISSION. 

Keturning  now  to  Missouri :  After  their  expulsion  from 
Jackson  County  the  Saints  were  received  with  some  degree 
of  kindness  in  Clay,  where  for  about  three  years  their  indus- 
try and  thrift  caused  the  wilderness  to  blossom  with  abund- 
ance. Their  numbers  were  greatly  enlarged  by  immigra- 
tions from  the  East.  It  was  considered,  however,  a  tempor- 
ary home,  since  they  hoped  to  be  re-instated  in  the  lands 
from  which  they  had  been  driven. 

Until  the  summer  of  1836,  there  had. been  no  objec- 
tion to  them.  They  were  peaceable,  industrious,  tended  to 
their  own  affairs.  But  at  that  time,  the  spirit  of  mobocracy 
re-appeared,  wakened  from  its  temporary  slumber  by  the  men 
of  Jackson,  who  began  crossing  the  river  in  squads  to  stir 
up  strife  and  enmity.  They  even  insulted  and  plundered 
their  victims.  The  peaceable  people  of  Clay,  fearing  a 
repetition  of  former  difficulties,  held  a  meeting  in  which  they 
decided  to  advise  the  Saints  to  seek  another  home.  This 
they  did,  having  first  reminded  them  under  what  circum- 
stances they  were  received.  There  were  objections  to  them, 
but  these  were  mostly  of  a  trivial  character.  Their  dialect, 
manners  and  customs,  were  not  like  those  of  the  Missouri- 
ans,  and  it  was  even  charged  that  they  were  non-slave  hold- 
ers or  abolitionists.  The  state  government  was  unfavorable 
to  them.  For  his  hostility  to  the  Saints  in  their  former 
trouble,  Boggs  had  been  made  Governor  of  Missouri;  and 


72  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

their  most  bitter  enemies — Lucas  and  Wilson — -were  given 
commissions  as  Major-  and  Brigadier-General.  It  appeared 
now  that  the  great  majority  of  citizens  in  the  state  had 
joined  with  these  officers  in  the  determination  that  the  Mor- 
mons should  be  prevented  from  enjoying  any  political,  civil 
or  religious  rights,  and  they  unitedly  conspired  to  war  against 
them  as  members  of  the  commonwealth. 

Viewing  the  situation  aright,  under  these  circumstances, 
the  Saints  now  resolved  for  the  sake  of  friendship,  to  re- 
main in  a  covenant  of  peace  with  the  citizens  of  Clay  County, 
and  to  show  gratitude  to  those  who  had  befriended  them, 
to  leave  the  county,  notwithstanding  this  action  involved 
an  enormous  sacrifice  of  property. 

In  September,  1836,  they  accordingly  began  moving  to 
their  new  location  in  the  Shoal  Creek  region,  then  a  wilder- 
ness in  Eay  County,  northeast  of  Clay.  In  December  of 
the  same  year,  in  answer  to  their  petitions,  this  district  was 
incorporated  by  the  Legislature,  and  thus  was  Caldwell 
County  created.  To  this  place,  the  Saints  removed  in  large 
numbers,  nearly  all  of  them  becoming  land-holders;  and  it 
was  there  they  founded  the  city  of  Far  West,  in  the  winter 
of  1836-7,  which  afterward  became  the  county  seat.  Most 
of  the  officers  of  the  city  and  county,  elected  according  to 
the  law,  were  Mormons.  In  this  new  home,  the  exiles  found 
a  peaceful  rest  for  a  season,  their  numbers  rapidly  increas- 
ing until  settlements  were  also  made  in  the  adjoining 
Daviess  County  and  elsewhere. 

Reverting  again  to  The  Church  in  the  East :  Following 
the  wonderful  spiritual  manifestations  enjoyed  in  the  tem- 
ple, there  swept  over  Kirtland  a  wave  of  inflation,  mistaken 
for  temporal  prosperity,  which  turned  the  heads  of  her  in- 
habitants. A  spirit  of  speculation  permeated  the  whole 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  73 

community,  playing  havoc  with  the  faith  of  the  Saints  and 
many  of  their  leaders.  All  kinds  of  schemes  were  adopted 
to  amass  wealth,  and  the  spirit  of  real  estate  speculation,  so 
prevalent  throughout  the  nation,  took  deep  root  in  The 
Church.  As  a  result,  there  followed  in  quick  succession, 
evil-surmisings,  fault-finding,  disunion,  dissensions,  apos- 
tasy, and  finally  financial  ruin.  The  Kirtland  Safety  So- 
ciety Bank,  established  by  Joseph  for  the  benefit  and  advan- 
tage of  the  Saints,  failed  through  the  speculation,  swindling 
and  treachery  of  subordinate  officers.  The  crash  became 
general,  and  many  of  the  people  were  utterly  ruined  finan- 
cially. 

Apostasy  followed.  The  disaffected  members  became 
bitterly  hostile  to  the  Prophet,  as  if  he  were  the  cause  of  the 
very  evils  which  he  struggled  most  to  avoid,  and  which  were 
brought  upon  the  people  because  they  would  not  heed  his 
counsels.  About  one-half  of  the  Apostles,  one  of  the  First 
Presidency,  and  many  leading  Elders  disloyally  declared  him 
to  be  a  "fallen  prophet/'  and  themselves  apostatized.  The 
Church  seemed  threatened  with  utter  destruction. 

It  was  on  the  1st  of  June,  1837,  while  these  radical  dis- 
turbances were  in  progress,  that  the  Lord  revealed  to  Jo- 
seph that  something  must  be  done  for  the  salvation  of  The 
Church.  Up  to  this  time,  there  had  been  no  missionaries 
sent  to  foreign  lands.  Proselyting  had  been  confined  to  the 
eastern  states,  to  Canada  and  a  narrow  district  in  the  west. 
Now  it  was  determined  to  open  a  mission  in  England.  Apos- 
tle Heber  C.  Kimball  was  chosen  to  pioneer  this  work,  his 
assistant  and  companion  Apostle  being  Orson  Hyde.  Wil- 
lard  Eichards  was  called  later,  and  together  they  sailed  from 
New  York  on  the  1st  day  of  July,  1837,  to  fill  their  mission. 
They  were  instructed  to  preach  only  the  first  principles  of 


74  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

the  gospel,  which  they  did  with  much  success.  In  less  than 
a  year  they  had  organized  twenty-six  branches  of  The  Church, 
with  a  membership  of  about  two  thousand  souls.  Throngs 
came  to  hear  them,  and  whole  villages  were  converted  at 
a  sweep.  The  opening  of  this  mission  was  one  of  the  most 
important  events  in  the  history  of  The  Church — a  grand 
movement  destined  in  the  years  soon  following  to  bring 
about  75,000  souls  into  its  fold  from  England  alone,  and  emi- 
grate rw  u>  America.  On  their  return,  the  Apostles 
landed  in  New  York  on  the  12th  of  May,  1838.  There  they 
found  a  large  branch  of  The  Church  which  had  been  erect- 
ed through  the  efforts  of  Parley  P.  Pratt  and  his  brother 
Orson,  the  former  having  there  published  his  celebrated 
work,  the  Voice  of  Warning,  the  year  before. 

But  while  the  cause  was  thus  prospering  over  the  wat- 
ers, in  Kirtland  nourished  the  destroying  agencies  of  apos- 
tasy, persecution,  confusion  and  mobocracy. 

The  Church  in  Missouri  did  not  entirely  escape  the 
disaffection.  The  local  leaders  lost  the  confidence  of  the 
people,  necessitating  a  hurried  visit  of  the  Prophet  to  Far 
West,  where  he  arrived  November  1st,  1837.  Having  held 
a  conference  and  arranged  affairs  in  Missouri,  he  returned 
to  Kirtland  about  December  10th.  It  was  djuring  his  ab- 
sence that  leading  Elders  in  the  latter  place  conspired  to 
overthrow  him,  and  to  appoint  David  Whitmer  in  his  stead. 
Among  them  were  several  of  the  Apostles,  and  some  of  the 
witnesses  of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  Their  schemes  would 
have  succeeded  but  for  the  fidelity  and  loyalty  of  Brigham 
Young,  who  defended  the  Prophet,  exposed  the  evil  designs 
of  his  enemies,  and  frustrated  their  plans. 

John  Taylor,  also,  later  an  Apostle  and  the  third  Pres- 
ident of  The  Church,  who  had  come  from  Canada  to  Kirt- 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  75 

land  in  the  fall  of  1837,  stood  loyal  to  The  Church  and  to 
Joseph — as  loyal  as  when,  seven  years  after,  he  stood  side 
by  side  with  his  Prophet-leader  amid  the  bullet  shower  of 
Carthage  jail,  or  as  when  fifty  years  later  he  died  in  cruel 
exile,  a  double  martyr  to  the  truth. 

On  the  same  grounds  stood  also  the  faithful  veteran, 
Wilford  Woodruff,  who  also  became  the  beloved  leader  of 
the  hosts  of  Israel. 

At  length,  on  December  22nd,  Brigham  Young,  who 
persisted,  publiety  and  privately,  in  declaring  Joseph  a  true 
prophet  of  God,  was  forced  to  flee  from  Kirtland,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  fury  of  the  mobs.  The  new  year  opened  with 
all  the  bitterness  of  the  spirit  of  apostate  mobocracy,  which 
continued  until  the  Prophet  was  compelled  to  seek  safety  in 
flight.  He  and  Elder  Eigdon  left  Kirtland  on  the  night  of 
January  12th,  1838,  and  were  joined  the  next  day  by  their 
families.  They  were  followed  more  than  two  hundred  miles 
by  their  armed  pursuers,  finally  arriving  in  Far  West  on  the 
14th  of  March,  1838. 


III. 

FROM  THE  MISSOURI  EXODUS  TO   THE  MARTYRDOM. 

1838—1844. 


1.    BANISHED  FROM  MISSOURI— FOUNDING  OF  NAUVOO. 

The  Prophet's  flight  was  the  signal  for  a  general  mi- 
gration of  the  Saints  from  Ohio.  The  Kirtland  Camp,  com- 
posed of  over  five  hundred  souls  soon  thereafter  made  its 
way  west. 

The  Saints  in  Missouri  now  numbered  upwards  of  twelve 
thousand  souls,,  most  of  whom  were  located  in  Caldwell,  al- 
though there  were  thriving  settlements  in  Daviess  and  Car- 
roll counties.  Adam-ondi-Ahman,*  where  the  Kirtland 
Saints  rested,  and  a  stake  of  Zion  was  afterward  organized, 
was  the  chief  settlement  in  Daviess,  and  Dewitt,  in  Carroll. 

There  were  some  divisions  among  the  Saints  when  Jo- 
seph arrived,  and  vigorous  measures  were  instituted  to  purge 
The  Church  of  its  disaffected  members.  At  a  Far  West  con- 
ference, a  number  of  prominent  men — among  them  Oliver 
Cowdery,  David  Whitmer,  and  the  Johnsons — were  excom- 
municated. Following  this  action,  peace  and  prosperity  again 
reigned.  Several  instructive  revelations  were  received  about 
this  time,  among  which  is  one  concerning  the  building  of  a 
temple  at  Far  West,  others  about  the  duties  of  the  Apostles 
and  their  mission  across  the  great  waters,  and  the  law  of 


*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  116;  also  Daniel  vii:  9-14. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  77 

tithing.*  For  a  few  months,  the  Prophet  spent  his  time 
in  literary  labors,  enjoying  peace  with  his  people,  instructing 
them,  planning  for  their  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare. 

About  this  time  Joseph  declared  that  the  Lord  had 
made  known  to  him  that  Adam  had  dwelt  in  America,  and 
that  the  Garden  of  Eden  was  located  where  Jackson  County 
now  is. 

The  lull  of  peace  was  only  temporary,  it  was  a  calm  be- 
fore the  storm.  On  the  nation's  birthday,  1838,  a  grand  cel- 
ebration was  held  at  Far  West,  in  which  thousands  of  Saints 
participated.  On  that  day,  the  foundation  stones  of  a  tem- 
ple were  laid — a  temple,  however,  destined  not  to  be  com- 
pleted. Sidney  Eigdon,  the  orator  of  the  day,  portrayed  the 
suffering  of  the  Saints,  showing  how  their  rights  had  been 
trampled  upon;  and,  in  a  moment  of  enthusiasm,  exclaimed: 
"We  take  God  to  witness,  and  the  holy  angels  to  witness 
this  day,  that  we  warn  all  men  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ 
to  come  on  us  no  more  forever.  The  man  or  the  set  of  men 
who  attempt  it,  do  it  at  the  expense  of  their  lives;  and  the 
mob  that  comes  on  us  to  disturb  us,  there  shall  be  between 
UP  and  them  a  war  of  extermination."  His  remarks  were 
doubtless  impolitic,  but  the  provocation,  and  the  enthusi- 
asm of  the  day,  should  be  considered  as  extenuating  con- 
ditions. 

The  lightning,  which  a  day  or  two  thereafter  shivered 
their  liberty  pole,  was  like  a  precursor  of  the  slumbering 
storm  of  human  hate  which  was  about  to  burst  forth  in  piti- 
less fury  over  the  unfortunate  Saints.  It  was  as  an  augury 
of  the  destruction  of  their  own  liberty. 

As  in  Jackson  County,  so  here,  the  people  feared  the  po- 

*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Sections  113  and  120, 


78  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

litical  rule  of  the  Mormons.*  The  latter  claimed  their  po- 
litical rights — the  right  to  vote  for  their  friends.  This  was 
denied  to  them,  and  the  result  was  a  conflict  which  ended  in 
their  wholesale  expulsion  from  the  state  of  Missouri,  in  mid- 
winter, in  the  midst  of  outrage,  robbery,  massacre  and  suf- 
fering indescribable. 

The  trouble  began  at  Gallatin,  Daviess  County,  on  the 
dth  of  August,  1838.  Twelve  Mormons  there  tried  to  vote, 
the  state  election  being  then  in  progress.  William  P.  Penis- 
ton,  a  candidate  for  the  legislature,  harangued  a  crowd 
against  them.  A  tumult  ensued.  The  Mormons  cast  their 
ballots,  but  several  of  them,  as  well  as  a  number  of  their  op- 
ponents, were  wounded. 

Eeports  of  this  trouble  were  exaggerated,  and  became  a 
pretext  for  a  general  anti-Mormon  uprising  in  the  several 
counties.  Threats  were  openly  made  and  published,  to  drive 
the  Mormons  from  the  state.  The  conservative  action  of  a 
number  of  leading  citizens,  in  signing  a  covenant  of  peace 
with  the  leaders  of  the  Church,  had  no  effect  in  calming  the 
disturbance.  The  Missourians  were  in  for  war.  Several 
hundred  of  the  mob  gathered  in  Daviess  and  Caldwell  coun- 
ties, some  painted  and  disguised  as  Indians.  Mormons  were 
plundered,  fired  upon,  and  taken  prisoners  on  false  charges. 
There  were  housebreakings  and  other  depredations,  until  the 
situation  became  unbearable.  Driven  to  this  extremity,  the 
Prophet  now  no  longer  counseled  peace  and  submission,  but 
bade  his  followers  protect  themselves,  their  homes  and  little 
ones.  The  Saints  armed  to  defend  themselves,  but  were 


*  Right  or  wrong,  law  or  no  law,  and  whether  in  accord  with  the 
letter  or  spirit  of  the  constitution  or  government  of  the  United  States 
or  not,  the  people  of  Missouri  had  determined  that  they  would  go  any 
length  before  they  would  allow  the  Saints  to  obtain  political  ascend* 
ancy  in  that  quarter."  Bancroft's  Utah,  p.  117, 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  79 

driven  from  Diahman,  afterward  from  Dewitt,  and  from  the 
outlying  settlements  in  Caldwell,  to  Far  West. 

Col.  Wight,  a  Mormon  commissioned  by  General  Parks 
of  the  state  militia,  organized  a  command,  and,  making  vigor- 
ous war  upon  the  marauders,  succeeded  in  driving  the  enemy 
from  Daviess  County.  This,  of  course,  only  served  to  swell 
the  excitement. 

Then  came  the  Crooked  Eiver  battle,  fought  on  the  25th 
of  October.  Captain  David  W.  Patten*  led  a  force  of  Far 
West  militia  which  attacked  a  band  of  marauders  under  Cap- 
tain Bogart.  The  Mormons  were  victorious.  Captain  Pat- 
ten and  two  of  his  men,  however,  were  killed,  while  the 
enemy  lost  one  man.  The  excitement,  already  at  fever  heat, 
now  became  intense.  Governor  Boggs  who,  when  appealed  to 
on  a  former  occasion,  when  the  mob  were  victorious  in  plund- 
ering the  Saints,  had  remarked  that  the  quarrel  was  between 
the  Mormons  and  the  mob,  and  that  they  might  "fight  it 
out,"  now  that  the  Mormons  were  successfully  defending 
themselves,  changed  his  tactics,  and  saw  his  chance  to  wreak 
vengeance  upon  them.  On  October  27,  he  issued  an  order  to 
Major-General  Clark,  commanding  the  state  forces,  to  pro- 
ceed in  all  haste  against  the  Mormons.  Thev  "must  be  treat- 
ed as  enemies,  and  must  be  exterminated  or  driven  from  the 
state  if  necessary,  for  the  public  good.  *  *  *  Instead, 
therefore,  of  proceedings  as  at  first  directed,  to  re-instate  the 
citizens  of  Daviess  in  their  homes,  you  will  procee  d  immedi- 
ately to  operate  against  the  Mormons."  "Thus  it  appears 


*  David  Wyman  Patten,  born  in  Vermont  about  the  year  1800;  or- 
dained one  of  the  twelve  apostles,  Sunday,  February  15,  1835;  appoint- 
ed one  of  the  presidents  pro  tern  of  The  Church  in  Missouri,  on  Satur- 
day, February  10,  1838;  fatally  wounded  at  a  battle  with  the  mob,  on 
Crooked  river,  Ray  county,  Missouri,  on  Thursday,  October  25,  1838; 
and  buried  at  Far  West  on  the  Saturday  following. 


80  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

that  the  Missouri  state  militia,,"  says  Bancroft,  "called  out 
in  the  first  instance  to  assist  the  Mormon  state  militia  in 
quelling  a  Missouri  mob,  finally  joins  the  moh  against  the 
Mormon  militia.  And  this,  notwithstanding  the  Saints  were 
in  no  wise  opposed  to  the  state,  to  law  and  to  order.  They 
were  simply  defending  themselves  by  permission  of  the  state. 

At  Eichmond,  two  thousand  troops  under  Major-Gen- 
eral Samuel  D.  Lucas  and  Brigadier-General  Moses  Wilson 
were  massed,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  October  departed  for 
Far  West.  Elsewhere  their  commander, General  Clark, was 
mustering  an  army  for  the  same  purpose. 

On  October  30th,  the  frightful  massacre  of  Mormons  at 
Haun's  Mill  was  perpetrated.  A  score  of  unoffending  Mor- 
mons, men,  women  and  children,  lately  arrived  emigrants 
from  the  east,  were  cruelly  killed  and  their  bodies  thrown 
into  a  well.  This  was  done  by  a  companv  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  men  commanded  by  one  Nehemiah  Comstock. 

On  the  same  d#y,  Far  West  was  beleaguered  by  the 
troops.  Not  having  heard  of  the  Governor's  exterminating 
order,  owing  to  the  stoppage  of  their  mails,  the  residents  of 
the  doomed  city  prepared  to  defend  themselves,  thinking  the 
besiegers  were  a  military  mob. 

It  was  at  this  critical  juncture  that  Col.  George  M. 
Hinkle,  commander  of  the  Mormon  forces,  betrayed  the 
Saints  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies  by  making  an  agree- 
ment with  the  besieging  Generals  in  effect  as  follows: 

The  Mormons  were  to  be  disarmed,  and  their  leaders 
were  to  be  delivered  up  for  trial  and  punishment.  A  deed 
of  trust  was  to  be  executed  pledging  all  Mormon  property  for 
the  payment  of  the  entire  cost  of  the  war.  The  Mormons  as 


A  BRIEF  HlSTORV  OP*  THE  CHURCH.  81 

a  body,  except  the  prisoners,  were  to  forthwith  leave  the 
state. 

These  arrangements,  made  without  the  knowledge  or 
consent  of  Hinkle's  associates,,  or  the  leaders  of  The  Church, 
were  promptly,  though  cruelly,  on  the  part  of  the  militia, 
carried  into  effect.  Pretending  to  have  arranged  a  confer- 
ence between  the  Mormon  leaders  and  the  Generals,  Col. 
Hinkle,  on  the  31st  of  October,  without  informing  the  form- 
er of  his  compact,  delivered  to  General  Lucas  the  follow- 
ing persons  who  were  then  treated  as  prisoners  of  war: 
Joseph  Smith,  Sidney  Eigdon,  Parley  P.  Pratt,  Lyman 
Wight,  George  W.  Eobinson,  Hyrum  Smith  and  Amasa  M. 
Lyman.  On  November  1st,  a  court-martial  was  held,  when 
the  prisoners  were  ordered  shot  at  8  o'clock  the  next  morn- 
ing, but  General  Doniphan  protested  in  the  name  of  hu- 
manity, and  the  sentence  was  not  executed.  Instead,  Gen- 
eral Lucas  took  them  on  a  parade  through  the  neighboring 
counties. 

At  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  the  Saints  were  compelled 
to  sign  away  their  property.  Not  alone  this,  but  the  city  was 
given  into  the  hands  of  the  allied  soldiers  and  marauders  who 
plundered  property,  and  committed  horrid,  nameless  Crimes 
upon  the  defenceless  citizens. 

General  Clark  appeared  upon  the  scene  on  the  4th  of 
November,  approving  all  that  had  been  done.  Calling  a  mass 
meeting,  he  read  to  the  Saints  his  famous  address,  in  which 
he  referred  to  the  Governor's  exterminating  order,  and  his 
determination  to  see  that  it  was  executed,  declared  that  the 
Saints  must  leave,  and  that  they  need  never  expect  to  see  the 
faces  of  their  leaders  again  "for  their  doom  is  sealed."*  He 


*  For  a  copy  of  the  document    see    "Autobiography    of   Pai-ley    P. 
Pratt,"  p.  225;  also  Whitney's  Utah,  Vol.  I,  p.  162. 

6 


mond,  the  charges  against  them 


being  murder,  arson,  treason,  in  addition  to  nearly  all  other 
crimes  on  the  calendar.*  It  was  impossible  for  their  friends 
to  do  anything  to  assist  them  owing  to  the  existing  prejudice. 
Their  attorney,  General  Doniphan,  had  said:  "Offer  no  de- 
fense; for  if  a  cohort  of  angels  should  declare  your  inno- 
cence it  would  be  all  the  same.  The  judge  is  determined  to 
throw  you  into  prison." 

While  the  trial  lasted,  from  the  llth  to  the  28th  of  No- 
vember, in  prison  they  were  compelled  to  listen  for  days  and 
nights  to  the  vile  stories  of  the  guards,  who  delighted  to 
taunt  them  with  repetitions  of  the  murders  and  rapes  com- 
mitted in  Far  West.  One  night  the  Pror>het  arose,  after 
hearing  all  he  could  endure  of  these  filthv  tales;  in  his  chains 
he  stood  erect  in  terrible  majesty,  and  in  a  voice  of  thunder 
rebuked  the  quailing  guards  who,  crouching-  at  his  feet  with 
weapons  on  the  ground,  begged  his  pardon,  and  were  silent. f 

Elder  Eigdon  was  at  length  released  on  bail,  and  forced 
to  flee  for  his  life,  while  Joseph,  Hyrum,  Lyman  Wight, 
Alexander  McEae  and  Caleb  Baldwin  were  removed  to  Lib- 
erty jail,  Clay  County  (the  others  remainir-  at  Eichmond), 
where  they  spent  the  winter  of  1838-9.  It  was  in  this  jail 


*  "One  evidence  of  their  treason,  as  cited  in  open  court,  was  their 
avowed  belief  in  the  prophecy  of  Daniel— Chapters  ii  and  vii— relative 
to  the  setting  up  of  the  latter-day  kingdom  of  God.  Their  murders 
were  the  battles  and  skirmishes  they  had  had  with  the  mob.  The  de- 
predations and  deeds  of  blood  committeed  by  the  Missourians  against 
the  Mormons  apparently  cut  no  figure  in  the  case."— Whitney's  Utah, 
Vol.  I.  p.  163. 

t  See  "Autobiography  of  Parley  P.   Pratt,"  p.  229. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  83 

that  Joseph  wrote  the  interesting  prayer,  prophecies,  and  in- 
structions recorded  in  Sections  121,  122,  and  123  of  the  Doc- 
trine and  Covenants. 

The  Saints  were  left  in  the  hands  of  the  mob,  who  con- 
tinued their  depredations  with  increased  bitterness,  destroy- 
ing property,  burning  houses,  driving  off  stock,  and  insulting 
defenceless  women. 

It  did  not  seem  possible  that  a  community  convicted  of 
no  crime  should  be  permitted  to  suffer  as  the  Saints  had 
done  under  the  Boggs'  order,  and  under  the  enforced  treaty 
depriving  them  of  their  property,  and  yet  find  no  redress.  So 
thinking,  those  among  the  Mormon  leaders  who  had  regained 
their  liberty  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  legislature  of  Mis- 
souri setting  forth  the  wrongs  inflicted  ur»on  the  Saints, 
praying  for  a  redress  of  grievances,  and  that  the  Governor's 
unlawful  and  tyrannical  order  be  rescinded.  The  only  an- 
swer was  a  show  of  help  in  a  ridiculousl^  small  aprvrA-^qtion 
for  their  aid,  consumed  mostly  among  the  distributing  of- 
ficers. 

The  depredations  continuing,  it  became  painfully  appar- 
ent, in  January,  1839,  that  there  was  no  help  for  the  Mor- 
mons. They  were  told  plainly,  both  publicly  and  privately 
that  they  must  leave  the  state  or  be  killed.  Stripped  of  the 
accumulations  of  years  of  toil,  all  that  they  owned  gone,  care- 
worn, parts  of  families  in  prison,  manv  without  clothing  or 
the  necessities  of  life,  the  only  prospect  before  the  Saints  was 
j,  mid-winter  exodus,  they  knew  not  where. 

It  was  with  the  Church  in  this  condition,  the  Prrmhet  in 
prison,  that  Brigham  Young,  President  of  the  Twelve,  tak- 
ing his  position  as  leader,  planned  and  carried  into  effect  the 
sxodus  of  the  Saints  to  Illinois.  He  and  his  brethren  entered 
into  covenant  to  "stand  by  and  assist  each  other  to  the  utmost 


84:  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH, 

of  our  abilities  in  removing  from  this  state,  and  that  we  will 
never  desert  the  poor,  who  are  worthy,  till  they  shall  be  out 
of  the  reach  of  the  exterminating  order  of  General  Clark, 
acting  for  and  in  the  name  of  the  state."  It  was  faithfully 
kept  by  them,  and  by  the  hundreds  of  others  who  signed  it. 

"That  winter  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  Latter-day 
Saints,"  says  Whitney,  "men,  women  and  children,  still 
hounded  and  pursued  by  their  merciless  oppressors,  fled  from 
Missouri,  leaving  in  places  their  bloody  footprints  on  the 
snow  of  their  frozen  pathway.  Crossing  the  icy  Mississippi 
they  cast  themselves,  homeless,  plundered  and  penniless,  up- 
on the  hospitable  shores  of  Illinois.  There  their  pitiable  con- 
dition and  the  tragic  story  of  their  wrongs  awoke  widespread 
sympathy  and  compassion,  with  corresponding  sentiments  of 
indignation  and  abhorrence  toward  their  persecutors." 

Cheering  them  from  his  dungeon  cell,  the  Prophet 
wrote :  "Zion  shall  yet  live  though  she  seemeth  to  be  dead." 

Escaping  from  Missouri  by  the  tacit  permission  of  their 
drunken  guards,  Joseph  and  Hyrum  joined  their  families  at 
Quincy,  Illinois,  on  the  22nd  day  of  April,  1839.  As  in  other 
parts  of  the  state,  the  citizens  of  Quincy  had  extended  sym- 
pathy and  welcome  to  the  unfortunate  Saints  who  were  made 
to  feel  that  they  were  in  a  place  of  refuge,  temporary  though 
it  might  be.  Thousands  of  dollars,  clothing  and  provisions, 
were  donated  to  them  by  the  citizens  of  Illinois;  and  while 
there  were  doubtless  enemies,  every  popular  sentiment  both 
in  that  state  and  in  Iowa,  was  in  favor  of  granting  them 
peace  and  protection.  The  Governors  of  both  states  were 
their  friends.  Two  days  after  his  arrival,  it  was  decided  by 
a  council  that  Joseph,  Vinson  Knight  and  Alonzo  Eipley 
should  proceed  to  select  a  location  for  the  Church.  Already 
the  Mormon  leaders,  by  the  written  counsel  of  the  Prophet, 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  85 

had  made  arrangements  for  land  in  the  two  states.  Tracts 
had  been  purchased  in  Keokuk,  Iowa,  forty  miles  above 
Quincy;  also  in  Nashville,  six  miles  above  Keokuk,  and  in 
Montrose,  Iowa,  four  miles  above  the  latter  place.  Opposite 
Montrose,  just  across  the  river,  on  the  Illinois  side,  stood 
Commerce,  where  Daniel  H.  Wells  resided,  of  whom  the 
Saints  received  land  on  very  cheap  terms.  On  the  1st  day  of 
May,  Joseph  made  additional  purchases  in  Commerce,  and 
decided  to  locate  the  headquarters  of  the  Church  there.  Ar- 
riving with  his  family  on  the  10th  of  May,  he  took  up  his 
abode  in  a  small  log  cabin  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  The 
village  was  an  insignificant  place  with  only  six  houses. 
Marshy,  and  covered  with  trees  and  brush,  it  had  an  un- 
healthy climate,  and  was  a  fit  abiding  place  for  malarial  dis- 
eases. On  this  account,  the  New  York  company  who  had 
started  the  place  were  glad  to  sell  when  the  Mormon  agents 
came.  But  the  city's  location  was  beautiful,  overlooking  as  it 
did  the  almost  encircling  Mississippi.  Because  of  the 
loveliness  of  its  position,  the  city  was  rechristened,  and  the 
following  year  named  Nauvoo,  signifying  beauty  and  rest. 

It  was  a  marvelous  undertaking  to  gather  the  scattered, 
destitute  and  afflicted  people,  against  whom  Missouri  had 
committed  such  a  monstrous  crime,  and  establish  them  in  one 
spot ;  especially  does  it  so  appear  when  it  is  remembered  that 
the  region  around  that  spot  was  so  sickly  that  few  others 
could  endure  its  climate.  But  as  in  following  years,  they 
were  assured  that  the  waste  desert  should  blossom  at  their 
bidding,  so  now  the  Saints  were  given  to  understand  that  the 
blessing  of  God  would  make  their  present  location  a  fit  habi- 
tation for  them.  On  this  assurance,  in  their  poverty  and 
affliction,  they  trustingly  proceeded  to  build  their  homes 
anew.  But  at  first,  they  were  balked  by  the  deadly  fevers. 


86  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Scarcely  a  family  was  exempt  from  sickness.  The  Prophet 
himself  was  prostrated,  but  the  Spirit  of  God  rested  power- 
fully upon  him,  and,  on  the  22nd  day  of  July,  he  arose  and 
y^nt  ahout  administering  to  the  sick,  commanding  them  in 
thx*  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  arise  and  he  made 
whole.  Many  wonderful  instances  of  healing  are  recorded  as 
a  result  of  the  faith  of  that  day  of  miracles.* 

On  account  of  the  ravages  of  disease,  and  the  labors  con- 
nected with  the  movement  of  the  Saints,  the  Twelve  had  not 
yet  departed  on  their  missions  "across  the  great  waters,"! 
to  which  the)7  had  been  called  lay  revelation  the  year  previ- 
ous, in  Missouri.  But  they  had  taken  leave  of  their  breth- 
ren and  the  city,  on  the  Temple  grounds  at  Far  West,  on 
At»ril  26th,  1839,  and  had  recommenced  laying  the  founda- 
tior  of  the  Temple,  as  it  had  been  declared  by  the  Prophet 
the  year  previous  J  that  they  should.  Having  learned  of 
this  prophecy,  Captain  Bogart  determined  it  should  not  be 
fulfilled,  which  doubtless  accounts  for  his  cruelty  in  driving 
out  of  the  state  the  few  remaining  Mormons,  whom  he  ex- 
pelled about  the  middle  of  April.  Evidently  he  desired  to 
make  it  impossible  for  them  to  fulfill  the  revelation,  but  at 
1  o'clock  a.  m.,  oil  the  day  named  in  the  revelation,  seven  of 
the  Twelve  met,  held  a  conference,  laid  a  corner  stone  of  the 
temple,  ordained  Wilford  Woodruff  and  George  A.  Smith  to 
the  Apostleship,  severed  thirty-one  persons  from  the  Church, 
bade  adieu  to  the  city  and  the  remaining  Saints,  and  were  on 
their  way  to  Illinois  before  their  enemies  had  arisen  to  renew 
their  oath  that  the  words  of  the  Prophet  should  go  unful- 
filled. 


*  See   Cannon's  Life   of  Joseph   Smith,   p.   293. 
t  Doctrine  and  Covenants.  Sec.  118:  4;  114:  1. 
t  Ibid.  Sec.  115:  8-18. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  87 

During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1839,  Commerce  arose 
like  a  fairy  from  the  marshes.  It  became  a  healthful  and 
charming  abiding  place.  The  Saints  prospered  marvelously 
in  temporal  affairs,  while  their  spiritual  interests  were  nour- 
ished by  the  wise  counsels  of  the  Prophet  and  his  associates. 
Through  their  teachings  many  sincere  souls  believed  and 
joined  the  Church. 

In  August  and  September  of  this  }'ear,  seven  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles  left  for  England  to  fill  their  missions,  not- 
withstanding a  number  of  them  and  their  families  were  still 
suffering  from  the  effects  of  sickness.  While  abroad,  they 
vrere  greatly  prospered,  and  the  great  missionary  work,  be- 
gun by  Heber  C.  Kimball  and  his  associates,  received  fresh 
impetus  by  their  arrival  in  Liverpool  on  the  6th  of  Apri], 
1840.  The  Millennial  Star  was  established,  five  thousand 
copies  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  were  printed,  besides  three 
thousand  hymn  books  and  fifty  thousand  tracts.  The  first 
emigrants,  numbering  over  one  thousand  souls,  were  for- 
warded to  the  Zion  of  the  new  world,  thus  adding  a  new  sig- 
nificance to  the  doctrine  of  the  gathering.  A  permanent 
shipping  agency  was  established,  while  over  three  thousand 
souls  were  added  to  the  believers.  President  Brigham 
Young,  who  had  supervised  this  work,  returned  to  Nauvoo 
with  some  of  his  brethren,  on  the  first  day  of  July,  1841. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Prophet,  soon  after  planting  his 
people  in  their  new  resting  place,  had  taken  steps  to  lay  be- 
fore the  general  Government  the  grievances  of  the  driven. 
Saints.  On  the  29th  of  October,  1839,  he  left  for  Washing- 
ton on  this  business,  arriving  there,  with  his  companion, 
Judge  Elias  Higbee,  on  the  28th  of  November.  Presenting 
themselves  at  the  White  House  the  following  day,  they  laid 
before  President  Van  Buren  the  claims  of  the  Saints  against 


88  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

the  state  of  Missouri.  He  was  at  first  averse  to  having  any- 
thing to  do  with  them,  remarking,  "What  can  I  do  ?  I  can 
do  nothing  for  you.  If  I  do  anything,  I  shall  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  whole  state  of  Missouri."  But  they  insisted  on 
a  hearing,  and  the  President  afterward  modified  his  words, 
expressing  sympathy  for  the  afflicted  people,  also  a  desire  to 
hear  an  exposition  of  the  Prophet's  religious  views.  Joseph 
explained  the  gospel  to  him,  and  bore  a  faithful  testimony  to 
the  work  of  God.  But  at  a  subsequent  visit,  the  President 
treated  him  with  insolence,  and  after  listening  impatiently  to 
his  story  made  that  remarkable,  now  notorious,  reply: 
"Your  cause  is  just,  but  I  can  do  nothing  for  you;  and  if  I 
take  up  for  you,  I  shall  lose  the  vote  of  Missouri."  Little 
wonder  that  the  Prophet  concluded  that  the  President  was 
"an  office  seeker,  that  self-aggrandizement  was  his  ruling 
passion,  and  that  justice  and  righteousness  were  no  part  of 
his  composition." 

Joseph  remained  in  t^e  East  during  the  winter,  making 
the  acquaintance  of  many  of  the  leading  political  lights  in 
the  nation.  To  the  tale  of  the  Mormons'  persecutions  Sena- 
tor John  C.  Calhoun  remarked:  "It  involves  a  nice  ques- 
tion— the  question  of  states  rights;  it  will  not  do  to  agitate 
it."  A  rather  strange  answer,  when  subsequent  events  are 
considered.  Henry  Clay  remarked  to  the  Prophet's  story: 
"You  had  better  go  to  Oregon,"  a  statement  which  then 
meant  out  of  the  permanent  reach  of  civilization,  exiles  from 
their  native  country.  The  members  of  Congress  from  Illi- 
nois, doubtless  out  of  political  policy,  (the  Mormons  would 
soon  hold  the  balance  of  power  in  Illinois),  agreed  to  present 
a  memorial,  petition  and  documents  to  the  Senate,  setting 
forth  the  sufferings  and  claims  of  the  Saints.  They  did  so, 
but  there  the  matter  rested.  Nothing  was  ever  done,  either 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  89 

by  the  Executive  or  the  Legislative  departments  of  the  na- 
tional Government  to  call  the  state  of  Missouri  to  account 
for  the  cruel  wrongs  it  had  inflicted  upon  the  Mormons.* 

Disgusted  at  length  with  the  politicians  whose  ruling 
principles,  he  discovered,  were  "popular  clamor,  and  person- 
al aggrandizement,"  instead  of  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the 
whole  people,  the  Prophet  left  Washington  for  home,  arriv- 
ing in  Nauvoo,  March  4,  1840.  While  absent,  he  had  taken 
advantage  of  many  opportunities  to  preach  the  gospel,  hav- 
ing addressed  large  audiences  in  Washington,  in  Chester 
County,  Pennsylvania,  (where  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of 
Edward  Hunter,  afterward  presiding  Bishop  of  the  Church) 
and  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

In  the  meantime,  the  cause  was  prospering  in  Nauvoo 
and  the  region  round  about,  under  the  presidency  of  Hyrum 
Smith.  There  was  now  a  population  of  about  three  thous- 
and in  the  city,  with  three  ecclesiastical  wards,  which  soon 
grew  to  twenty  thousand,  with  ten  wards,  and  three  addi- 
tional in  the  farming  districts  on  the  outside. 

At  this  time  the  Mormons  again  began  to  take  an  active 
interest  in  politics — a  right  which  had  brought  upon  them 
serious  troubles  in  the  past,  and  which  was  destined  to  over- 
whelm them  in  the  near  future  with  untold  sorrow;  though 
for  the  present,  it  was  an  important  element  in  the  peace  and 
prosperity  which  smiled  upon  them.  Holding  the  balance 
of  power  in  Illinois,  their  favor  was  widely  sought  by  poli- 
ticians. They  were  the  means  of  electing  the  celebrated 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  to  the  Senate.  They  voted  for  William 


*  The  claims  of  491  persons  against  Missouri,  amounting  to  about 
one  and  one-half  million  dollars,  were  presented  by  the  Prophet  with 
the  memorial,  all  of  which  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judic- 
iary, which  finally  reported  adversely  upon  them. 


90  A  BRIEF  F:STORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Henry  Harrison,  the  successful  Whig  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency, against  Martin  Van  Buren,  the  Democrat,  evidently 
not  so  much  because  they  or  their  Prophet  were  Whigs,  as 
that  Van  Buren  was  their  enemy. 

With  politics,  immediately  there  arose  the  dark  specter 
of  persecution.  On  the  15th  of  September,  1840,  Governor 
Lilburn  W.  Boggs  of  Missouri  made  a  demand  on  Governor 
Carlin  of  Illinois  for  the  Prophet  and  some  of  the  leading 
Elders,  on  the  grounds  that  they  were  fugitives  from  justict . 
Considerable  annoyance  was  thus  caused,  especially  to 
Joseph,  whose  aged  father  had  died  the  day  previous  but  the 
Missourians  received  but  little  sympathy,  and  the  requisition 
papers  were  returned  unserved.  The  unpleasant  incident, 
however,  like  a  cloud  on  the  clear  horizon  of  Joseph  and  his 
people,  was  the  forerunner  of  "a  storm  which,  though  not 
bursting  forth  instanter,  shall  know  no  lull  when  once  its 
fury  breaks,  till  the  blood  of  that  Prophet  has  been  shed,  and 
another  and  a  crowning  exodus  of  that  people — from  the 
confines  of  civilization  to  the  wilds  of  the  savage  west— shall 
have  startled  by  its  strangeness  and  awakened  by  its  unparal- 
leled achievement,  a  world's  wonder."* 

In  the  winter  of  1840-1,  the  legislature  granted  a  most 
liberal  charter  to  Nauvoo,  a  charter  intended,  according  to 
Joseph,  "for  the  salvation  of  the  Church,  on  principles  so 
broad,  that  every  honest  man  might  dwell  secure  under  its 
protective  influence  without  distinction  of  sect  or  party."  It 
went  into  effect  February  1st,  1841,  on  which  day  the  first 
election  was  held.  A  day  or  two  thereafter,  the  University 
and  the  Nauvoo  Legion  were  organized,  as  provided  in  the 
charter.  Joseph  was  afterward  chosen  Lieutenant-General 
of  the  military  organization. 

*  Whitney's  Utah,  Vol.  I,  p.  178. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  91 

At  a  conference  on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1841,  the  cor- 
ner stones  of  the  Nauvoo  temple  were  laid,  and  to  aid  in  the 
erection  of  this  edifice  and  other  public  buildings,  the 
Prophet  called  upon  the  people  in  the  scattered  stakes,  in 
the  region  round  about,  to  gather  to  ^auvoo.  In  conformity 
with  this  desire,  the  Saints  flocked  into  the  city  from  all  di- 
rections to  build  up,  with  their  concentrated  energy  and  en- 
terprise, "the  corner  stone  of  Zion." 

Success  attended  them  at  home  and  abroad,  and  with  the 
return  of  Brigham  Young  and  the  Apostles  from  England, 
the  prosperity  of  the  growing  city  was  greatly  accelerated. 
The  fame  of  Joseph  Smith  had  spread  over  two  continents. 
In  1842,  he  and  his  people  were  at  the  height  of  prosperity. 
The  great  newspapers  sent  representatives  to  write  about  the 
modern  "military  Prophet"  and  his  followers  ,  whose  sur- 
roundings had  never  before  been  so  propitious  as  at  this  par- 
ticular time.  In  answer  to  appeals  from  publishers,  Joseph 
wrote  a  short  account  of  the  founding  of  the  Church,  its 
progress  and  persecutions,  in  which  is  contained  the  Articles 
of  Faith.* 

Other  writings,  explaining  the  belief  and  the  history  of 
the  Latter-day  Saints,  were  scattered  broadcast  over  the 
whole  world.  Times  and  Seasons,  the  Church  organ,  was 
edited  by  the  Prophet  himself,  through  which  source  he  pro- 
mulgated many  precious  truths,  and  instructions.  On  the 
17th  of  March,  the  Belief  Society  of  the  ladies  was  organized. 
Hundreds  were  baptized.  Beautiful  homes  surrounded  by 
lovely  gardens  sprang  into  existence;  industries  flourished 
with  the  increase  of  population ;  the  thrift,  energy  and  union 
of  the  people  promised  to  make  the  city  the  largest  in  the 


*  For  a  copy,  see  Cannon's  "Life  of  Joseph  Smith,"  pp.  364-370; 
"Articles  of  Faith,"  by  Dr.  J.  E,  Talmage,  and  other  Church  publica- 
tions. 


92  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

state.    Nauvoo,  the  Beautiful,  soon  numbered  twenty  thous- 
and souls. 

Zion  was  indeed  living;  but,  standing  upon  the  gilded 
hill-tops  of  her  fame  and  prosperity,  the  Prophet  beheld 
premonitory  shadows  of  the  dark  valley  of  affliction  through 
which  her  people  were  about  to  pass,  and  in  which  he  was 
to  sacrifice  his  life,  a  martyr  to  her  wondrous  cause. 

3.    LOWERING  CLOUDS. 

The  premonition  of  his  own  fate  first  found  utterance 
in  a  funeral  sermon  which  the  Prophet  delivered  over  the 
remains  of  a  son  of  William  Marks,  President  of  the  Nauvoo 
Stake,  on  the  9th  day  of  April,  1842,  in  which  he  enjoined  his 
hearers  to  remember  that  he  was  subject  to  death,  and  that 
he  had  no  longer  a  lease  of  his  life.*  Four  month?  later,  on 
the  6th  day  of  August,  in  a  conversation  with  some  of  his 
brethren  in  Montrose,  Iowa,  he  foreshadowed  the  migration 
of  his  people  to  the  west,  and  the  tribulations  through  which 
they  were  to  pass,  in  a  remarkable  prophecy  which  was  re- 
corded at  the  time.f 

In  May,  1842,  the  treachery  of  Dr.  J.  C.  Bennett  began 
to  come  to  light.  This  man  Bennett  had  been  elected  Mayor 
of  Nauvoo,  chosen  Chancellor  of  its  University,  and  Major- 
General  of  its  Legion.  He  was  a  man  of  brains  and  ability, 

*  Said  he:  "Some  of  the  Saints  have  supposed  that  'Brother  Joseph' 
could  not  die;  but  this  is  a  mistake.  It  is  true  that  there  have  been 
times  when  I  have  had  the  promise  of  my  life  to  accomplish  certain 
things;  but  having  now  done  these  things,  I  have  no  longer  any  lease 
on  my  life.  I  am  as  liable  to  die  as  other  men." 

t  Says  the  record:  •"!  prophesied  that  the  Saints  would  continue  to 
suffer  much  affliction,  and  would  be  driven  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Many  would  apostatize,  others  would  be  put  to  death  by  our  persecut- 
ors, or  lose  their  lives  In  consequence  of  exposure  and  disease;  and 
some  would  live  to  go  and  assist  in  making  settlements  and  building 
cities,  and  see  the  Saints  become  a  mighty  people  in  the  midst  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains." 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  93 

but  had  little  character  and  conscience.  He  had,  however, 
rendered  valuable  service  to  the  Mormon  cause  in  obtaining 
the  charter  of  Nauvoo,  and,  as  his  rascality  and  lack  of  soul 
were  not  at  first  apparent,  he  was  hastily  loaded  with  the  con- 
fidence and  honor  which  he  afterward  so  shamefully  abused. 
At  a  sham  battle  of  the  Legion,  he  planned  to  have  the 
Prophet  killed.  Failing  in  this,  he  began  repeating  unwar- 
ranted falsehoods  against  the  Prophet  and  the  people. 
Among  other  things,  he  taught  secretly  to  men  and  women 
that  Joseph  countenanced  sin  between  the  sexes.  This  was 
doubtless  done  to  shield  his  own  iniquity,  for  he  was  shortly 
after  excommunicated  for  adultery.  Then  he  wrote  a  book 
full  of  wicked  falsehoods  against  Joseph  and  the  Saints, 
which  greatly  increased  the  now  rising  prejudice  against 
them.  In  August,  the  apostles  and  a  large  number  of  elders 
were  sent  out  to  refute  these  slanders  and  vile  imputations. 
In  the  meantime,  the  old  Missouri  feud  was  kept  alive. 
In  May,  an  attempt  was  made  to  assassinate  Ex-Governor 
Boggs,  in  Independence,  the  deed  being,  of  course,  falsely, 
laid  to  the  Mormons.  Complaint  was  made  accusing  Joseph 
of  being  an  accessory  to  the  attempted  murder  before  the 
crime.  Application  was  made  by  the  Governor  of  Missouri 
demanding  his  person  from  the  authorities  in  Illinois.  He 
and  0.  P.  Rockwell  were  accordingly  arrested  at  Nauvoo, 
August  8,  but  were  discharged  after  a  hearing  before  the 
municipal  court.  But  other  attempts  were  made  to  get  him 
into  the  clutches  of  his  enemies;  and,  for  this  reason,  he 
deemed  it  best  to  go  into  hiding.  While  hidden,  he  wrote  im- 
portant letters  to  the  Saints  concerning  the  continuation  of 
work  on  the  temple,  and  on  the  doctrine  of  baptism  for  the 
dead.*  Every  attempt  was  made  to  capture  him,  but  in  vain. 

*  See  Doctrine  and  Covenants,   Sections  127  and  128. 


94  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OB'  THE  CHURCH. 

In  December,  1842,  Thomas  Ford,  a  Democrat,  became  Gov- 
ernor of  Illinois,  and  to  him  Joseph  applied  to  withdraw  the 
writs  and  the  proclamation  of  reward  which  Governor  Carlin 
had  issued  for  his  capture.  Ford  induced  him  to  submit  to  a 
judicial  investigation,  which  was  accordinglv  done,  and  re- 
sulted in  Joseph  once  more  becoming  a  free  man. 

For  a  short  time,  he  enjoyed  peace.  On  February  6, 
1843,  he  was  chosen  Mayor  of  Nauvoo.  On  the  12th  of 
April  following,  Parley  P.  Pratt,  Lorenzo  Snow  and  Levi 
Richards  arrived  in  the  city  with  two  large  companies  of  emi- 
grants from  England,  among  whom  were  the  Cannon  family. 

In  June  of  this  year,  there  was  another  attempt  to  drag 
the  Prophet  to  Missouri,  this  time  on  the  old  charge  of  trea- 
son. Dr.  Bennett  was  among  the  principal  instigators  of  this 
outrage.  The  Prophet  was  arrested,  or  rather  kidnapped, 
and  brutally  treated,  but  upon  a  final  hearing  was  again  re- 
leased. 

The  politicians  were  stirring  up  strife  against  the  Saints, 
in  the  meantime.  Ford  in  his  inaugural  address  to  the  legis- 
lature had  recommended  a  modification  and  restriction  of 
the  Nauvoo  charter,  to  pacify  the  general  clamor.  The  step 
Joseph  had  taken  in  calling  the  Saints  from  other  parts  to 
Nauvoo,  previously  referred  to,  had  been  looked  upon  as  a 
deep  scheme  on  his  part  to  gain  political  ascendency,  and 
certain  politicians  professed  to  view  with  alarm  the  increase 
of  Mormon  power  which  would  be  brought  about  by  means 
of  this  concentration.  The  result  had  been  the  organization 
of  the  anti-Mormon  party,  which  was  composed  of  all  kinds 
of  people  who  had  grievances  against  the  Saints,  and  it  was 
the  means  of  stirring  up  much  bitterness  against  them.  In 
August,  several  Mormons  who  had  been  elected  to  county 
offices,  upon  attempting  to  qualify  at  Carthage,  the  county 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  95 

seat,  were  threatened  by  an  armed  mob,  but  nevertheless  they 
took  the  required  oaths.  With  this,  the  anti-Mormon  party 
renewed  their  pledges  to  fight  the  Mormons,  and  to  assist 
Missouri  in  any  future  attempt  to  harass  the  Prophet.  Be- 
sides this,  mobs  now  began  to  burn  the  homes  of  the  Saints 
in  the  districts  lying  outside  of  Nauvoo,  and  otherwise  to 
destroy  their  possessions.  When  appealed  to  for  assistance, 
Governor  Ford  implied  in  his  reply  that  the  Saints  must  pro- 
tect themselves.  His  answer  was  in  the  same  line  as  those 
of  former  officials  in  Missouri,  and  as  that  of  President  Van 
Buren;  it  meant  to  that  persecuted  people:  however  just 
your  cause,  we  can  do  nothing  for  you. 

The  Nauvoo  Legion  was  held  in  readiness  to  protect  the 
people  from  the  depredations  of  the  mob. 

4.    THE  MARTYRDOM. 

"What  will  be  your  rule  of  action  relative  to  us  as  a 
people,  should  fortune  favor  your  ascension  to  the  chief  mag- 
istracy?" 

This  question  was  directed  to  several  prominent  na- 
tional politicians  by  the  Prophet  Joseph  in  the  winter  of 
1843-4.  Replies  were  received  from  Henry  Clay  and  John 
C.  Calhoun  only,  and  these  were  so  evasive  that  the  Prophet 
stingingly  reproved  them  for  what  he  considered  their  cow- 
ardice and  lack  of  moral  force. 

Then  followed  the  startling  announcement  that  Joseph 
Smith  was  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  nominated  on  the  29th  of  January,  1844,  and 
duly  sustained  at  a  state  convention  on  the  17th  of  May  fol- 
lowing. Subsequently  appeared  a  printed  proclamation  of 
the  Prophet's  "Views  on  the  Powers  and  Policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,"  in  which  he  defined  his  posi- 


96  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

tion  on  the  burning  political  questions  of  the  day.  Slavery 
should  be  abolished,  the  slave-holders  to  be  paid  for  their 
slaves  by  the  general  government;  money  for  this  purpose 
to  be  raised  by  the  reduction  of  salaries  of  Congressmen,,  and 
by  the  sale  of  public  lands ;  the  abolition  of  imprisonment  for 
debt,  and  for  all  crimes  save  murder;  work  on  public  im- 
provements to  be  made  the  penalty  for  others ;  the  penitenti- 
aries to  be  turned  into  seminaries  of  learning :  the  investment 
of  power  in  the  President  to  send  armies  to  suppress  mobs; 
the  extension  of  the  United  States,  with  the  consent  of  the 
red  man,  from  sea  to  sea ;  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  other 
districts  when  they  should  ask  for  entrance  into  the  Union. 
Besides,  there  were  many  other  excellent  features  in  his 
platform. 

To  promulgate  his  political  views,  and  to  act  as  his  elec- 
tioneers in  the  campaign,  the  Twelve  and  many  Elders  were 
sent  to  the  Eastern  States.  The  reason  impelling  him  to  ac- 
cept the  candidacy  was  that  he  might  battle  for  the  religious 
and  civil  rights  of  his  people.*  Doubtless  he  had  little  faith 
in  winning  the  race  for  the  Presidency.  Said  he:  "I  care 
but  little  about  the  Presidential  chair,  I  would  not  give  half 
as  much  for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  as 
I  would  for  the  one  I  now  hold  as  Lieutenant-General  of  the 
Nauvoo  Legion." 

We  find  him  more  interested  in  having  Oregon  and  Cali- 
fornia explored;  whither,  after  the  completion  of  the  temple, 
he  hoped  to  lead  his  Legion  at  the  head  of  the  Saints,  there 


*  "I  feel  it  to  be  my  right  and  privilege  to  obtain  what  influence 
and  power  I  can,  lawfully,  in  the  United  States,  for  the  protection  of 
injured  innocence;  and  if  I  lose  my  life  in  a  good  cause,  I  am  willing 
to  be  sac'rificed  on  the  altar  of  virtue,  righteousness  and  truth,  in 
maintaining  the  laws  and  constitution  of  the  United  States,  if  need  be 
for  the  general  good  of  mankind."— Joseph  Smith. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  9? 

to  ffbuild  a  city  in  a  day."  The  exploring  expedition  of  sev- 
enty-five men  which  he  had  arranged  for  would  have  gone  on 
this  mission  but  for  the  political  move  referred  to.  In 
March,  Congress  was  memorialized  by  him  to  pass  an  act  for 
the  protection  of  American  citizens  wishing  to  settle  Oregon, 
which  at  that  time  was  claimed  by  England  jointly  with  the 
United  States.  He  asked  for  the  privilege  of  raising  100,000 
men  for  this  purpose,  and  also  to  protect  Texas  against  Mexi- 
co, and  to  found  another  state  for  the  Union  in  the  midst  of 
the  Eocky  Mountains.  But  other  events  intervened  to  pre- 
vent him  from  accomplishing  the  plan.  However,  the  de- 
sign was  not  defeated.  Joseph  was  destined  to  die,  and  Brig- 
ham  Young,  to  carry  into  effect  the  outlined  program. 

The  situation  in  Nauvoo,  during  the  spring  and  summer 
of  1844,  was  desperate.  Not  only  were  there  dire  threatenings 
from  the  mob  without,  but  from  apostates  within,  who  were 
forming  all  kinds  of  plots  for  the  destruction  of  the  Prophet 
and  the  people  in*  the  fated  city.  William  and  Wilson  Law, 
the  Highbees,  and  the  Fosters,  all  of  them  apostates,  and  as 
vile  as  they  were  bitter,  were  foremost  among  the  plotters. 
These  men  founded  a  new  church,  with  William  Law,  former- 
ly Joseph's  counselor,  as  president,  and  denounced  Joseph  as 
"a  fallen  Prophet." 

The  doctrine  of  plurality  of  wives  and  the  eternity  of 
the  marriage  convenant  had  been  recorded  July  12,  1843,* 
and  at  the  time  of  which  we  write  was  secretly  taught  and 
practiced  among  the  leaders  of  the  Church.  Owing  to  his 
position,  William  Law,  of  course,  knew  this,  and  therefore 
had  Joseph  arrested  for  polygamy.  He  was  discharged;  but 
it  was  not  him  alone  that  the  efforts  of  these  apostates  were 
directed  against;  the  whole  people  were  to  be  harassed  and 
persecuted.  To  this  end,  they  founded  the  Expositor,  a 

*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  132. 


98  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

newspaper  whose  mission,  among  other  things,  was  to  advo- 
cate the  unconditional  repeal  of  the  Nauvoo  charter,  and  to 
create  disobedience,  and  rebellion  against  the  Prophet.  It 
made  its  first  appearance  on  June  7,  1844,  filled  with  foul 
abuse  and  filthy  scandals.  The  whole  city  was  shocked.  The 
city  council  met  on  the  10th,  and  declared  the  paper  a  nui- 
sance that  must  be  abated;  and,  on  the  day  following,  by  or- 
der of  Mayor  Joseph  Smith,  it  was  utterly  destroyed.  Imme- 
diately leaving  the  city,  the  proprietors  arranged  for  the  ar- 
rest of  Joseph  and  a  number  of  prominent  men,  on  the 
charge  of  riot.  They  were  arrested,  tried,  and  discharged  in 
Nauvoo,  they  being  unwilling  to  leave  that  city  for  trial. 
This  caused  intense  excitement.  Soon  anti-Mormon  mobs 
gathered  against  Nauvoo  armed  for  battle,  swearing  ven- 
geance on  the  people  and  their  leaders.  The  situation  was 
serious.  Word  had  been  sent  to  the  Governor,  but  there  had 
been  no  reply  from  him.  Under  these  circumstances 
Joseph,  seeing  no  escape  from  threatened  assault  and  mas- 
sacre, declared  Nauvoo  under  martial  law,  calling  out  the  Le- 
gion to  defend  it.  Hearing  of  this,  the  weak  and  vacillating 
Governor  Ford  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  troops, 
virtually  transforming  the  assembling  mobs  into  militia, 
and  demanded  that  the  Prophet  and  his  associates  in  the 
destruction  of  the  Expositor  come  to  Carthage  for  trial,  and 
that  martial  law  be  abolished  in  Nauvoo.  His  orders  were 
obeyed.  He  made  a  solemn  pledge  upon  his  honor,  and  the 
faith  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  that  the  prisoners  should  be 
protected  from  violence,  and  that  they  should  be  given  a  fair 
trial.  This  pledge  was  repeated  several  times  afterward,  but 
was  never  kept. 

On  the  day  following,  by  demand  of  the  Governor,  the 
Legion  delivered  up  their  arms,  being  once  more  promised 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  99 

protection.  The  Prophet,  his  brother  Hyrum,  and  sixteen 
thers  of  their  friends,  went  to  Carthage  on  the  evening  of 
he  24th  of  June,  Joseph  remarking  that  he  was  going  "like 
lamb  to  the  slaughter."*  He  had  hesitated  for  a  moment, 
rossed  the  river  with  some  of  his  friends,  thinking  to  go  to 
he  mountains,  but  returned  upon  the  solicitation  of  some  of 
is  followers  who  chided  him  with  cowardice  in  deserting  his 
eople.  That  they  were  going  back  to  be  slaughtered  was 
ertain.  Their  enemies  were  determined  that  if  the  law 
ould  not  reach  them,  powder  and  ball  should. 

On  the  fatal  27th  of  June,  Joseph  and  Hyrum,  with  their 
riends  John  Taylor  and  Willard  Eichards  were  placed  in  an 
pper  room  of  the  Carthage  jail.  About  5  o'clock  p.  m.  the 
'rophet  and  his  Patriarch  brother  were  shot  by  a  mob  of 
roops  about  two  hundred  strong.  John  Taylor  was  all  but 
atally  wounded,  while  Willard  Eichards  escaped  unhurt. 

While  this  bloody  tragedy  was  being  enacted  in  Carth- 
ge,  by  the  mutinous  Carthage  Greys,  Governor  Ford  was  in 
lauvoo  haranguing  the  disarmed,  peaceful  Saints  on  the 
normity  of  their  crimes  in  destroying  the  Expositor.  He 
lust  have  known  of  the  intention  of  the  mob,  for  his  atten- 
[on  was  frequently  called  to  the  threats  which  thev  had 
penly  made  never  to  allow  the  Prophet  to  escape  alive.  He 
ras  "struck  with  a  kind  of  dumbness/'  as  he  heard  of  the  as- 
assination,  but  it  was  doubtless  more  from  a  fear  for  his 
wn  safety  than  from  grief  at  the  crime.  He  fled  to  Quincy 
hat  same  night,  after  having  written  an  order  to  the  Saints 
o  defend  themselves.  The  horrified  mob  and  citizens  of 
Jarthage  fled  in  all  directions. 

*  "I  am  going  like  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  but  I  am  as  calm  as  a 
ummer  morning.  I  have  a  conscience  void  of  offense  toward  God 
nd  toward  all  men.  If  they  take  my  life.  I  shall  die  an  innocet  man, 
nd  my  blood  shall  cry  from  thhe  ground  for  vengeance,  and  it  shall 
et  be  said  of  me,  'He  was  murdered  in  cold  blood.'  " 


IV. 
THE  CHURCH  UNDER  BRIGHAM  YOUNG. 

1*44—1877. 

1.    AGREEMENT  TO  LEAVE  NAUVOO. 

The  foundation  for  the  Church  of  Christ,  which  the 
Prophet  Joseph  had  laid,  was  broad  and  grand.  To  follow 
him,  God  had  provided  in  Brigham  Young  a  strong  builder 
who  thoroughly  understood  the  plans  and  specifications  of 
the  complex  and  colossal  superstructure  that  was  thereupon 
to  be  erected.  With  master  mind  and  hand,  he  stood  ready 
at  the  appointed  hour  to  grapple  with  the  stupendous  task. 

The  woe  and  grief  of  the  stricken  Saints  were  beyond 
description.  When  the  dead  bodies  of  their  martyred  leaders 
arrived  in  Nauvoo,  on  June  28,  18-14,  ten  thousand  sorrow- 
ing people  gathered  to  gaze  upon  the  lifeless  clay.  Apostle 
Willard  Richards  and  Col.  Markham  admonished  the  people 
to  keep  the  peace,  to  look  to  the  law  for  a  remedy,  and,  that 
failing,  as  it  did,  to  leave  vengeance  to  Heaven. 

A  few  days  before  the  martyrdom,  the  Apostles  had 
been  called  home  from  their  electioneering  mission,  but  the 
most  of  them  did  not  return  until  the  6th  of  August. 

The  training  to  which  the  Prophet  had  subjected  the 
Apostles  abundantly  fitted  them  to  take  the  responsibility  of 
leading  the  Church.  His  last  days  had  been  devoted  assidu- 
ously to  the  ministry.  He  had  bestowed  upon  the  Apostles 
and  other  faithful  Elders,  the  endowments,  given  them  the 
keys  of  the  Priesthood  in  their  fullness,  taught  and  adminis- 
tered to  them  the  sealing  ordinances,  explaining  the  manner 
in  which  parents,  children,  the  whole  human  family,  are  to  be 
united  in  eternal  ties.  In  his  sermons,  he  dwelt  upon  these 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  101 

mportant  doctrines,  and  laid  a  foundation  broad  and  strong 
ipon  which  to  build  the  Church — both  relating  to  govern- 
nent^and  to  spiritual  doctrines.*  His  days  had  been  few  but 
mportant.  All  his  years  were  full  of  persecution;  vindictive 
late  followed  him  through  life.  By  "false  brethren,"  he  was 
onstantly  wounded.  He  had  now  sealed  his  divine  doctrines 
jid  his  faithful  testimony  with  his  blood,  which,  as  with 
•ther  martyrs,  became  "the  seed  of  the  Church." 

For  the  first  time  since  that  quorum's  organization,  The 
Church  was  without  a  First  Presidency.  But  the  keys  and 
he  powers  had  been  left  with  the  Apostles.  Well  for  the 
:ause  that  such  a  character  as  Brigham  Young  stood  at  the 
tead  of  that  quorum.  To  him  the  Saints  turned  instinctively 
or  counsel.  Sidney  Eigdon,  the  martvred  Prophet's  First 
Counselor,  who  had  removed  to  Pennsylvania  to  escape  the 
urmoils  of  Nauvoo,  made  an  effort  to  induce  the  Saints  to 
iccept  his  leadership,  but  the  hearts  of  the  people  were  not 
nth  him;  and,  after  some  meetings  and  discussions,  on  the 
!th  of  August,  1844,  Brigham  Young  and  the  Twelve  Apos- 
les  were  sustained  as  the  leaders  of  The  Church.  Brigham 
ras  regarded  by  the  people  as  the  divinely  appointed  suc- 
:essor  of  the  Prophet;  upon  him  the  mantle  of  Joseph  had 
'alien.  His  ability  and  past  labors  entitled  him  to  their  con- 
idence,  as  the  Spirit  of  God  and  the  gospel  designated  him 
;heir  safest  guide. \  He  laid  hold  of  the  work  where  the 
i'rophet  finished,  and  carried  it  on  successfully.  It  was  soon 
nanifest  to  the  enemies  of  The  Church,  who  paused  to  view 


*  See  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Sections  112  and  129-131;  also  "Ser- 
nons  and  Writings  of  the  Prophet  Joseph,"  Contributor.  Vol.  3. 

t  "Brigham  found  himself  in  possession  of  qualities  which  we  find 
present  primarly  in  all  great  men— intellectual  force,  mental  superior- 
ty,  united  with  personal  magnetism,  and  physique  enough  to  give 


102  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

the  effects  of  the  murder  storm  of  Carthage,  that  Mormon- 
ism  would  not  die  with  its  Prophet.  There  had  arisen  an 
equally  fitting  character,  however  they  may  have  differed,  to 
lead  the  Saints  on  their  thorny  though  triumphant  way.  Up- 
on the  foundations  laid  by  the  first,  the  second  was  to  build  a 
structure  that  was  to  become  the  wonder  and  the  admiration 
of  the  world. 

For  a  short  period,  there  was  peace  in  Nauvoo.  The 
building  of  the  temple  and  other  public  places  was  continued 
in  the  midst  of  poverty.  The  population  was  increased  by 
emigrations  from  the  old  world.  But  the  enemies  of  the 
cause  were  as  active  as  ever;  nothing  but  the  scattering  and 
utter  destruction  of  the  Saints  would  satisfy  their  designs. 
Eealizing  that  the  enforced  and  foreshadowed  exodus  to  the 
west  was  near  at  hand,  the  people  were  counseled  by  their 
leaders  to  bend  every  energy  to  complete  the  sacred  temple, 
so  that  all  might  enjoy  the  blessings  of  the  glorious  doctrines 
which  the  martyred  Prophet  had  revealed  to  them.  Before 
their  departure  to  the  west,  the  edifice  was  so  far  completed, 
that  in  December,  1845,  and  January,  1846,  thousands  re- 
ceived their  endowments,  blessings  and  anointings  therein. 

A  faint  effort  was  made  in  the  fall  of  1844,  also  in  May, 
1845,  to  bring  the  murderers  of  the  Prophets  to  justice,  but 
after  a  trial,  they  were  "honorably  acquitted/'  There  was  no 
hope  for  the  Saints  to. receive  justice.  Yielding  to  the  popu- 
lar clamor,  the  legislature  repealed  the  Nauvoo  city  charter, 
in  January,  1845,  and  the  place  became  the  prey  of  lawless- 


weight  to  will  and  opinion;  for  Brig-ham  Young  was  assuredly  a  great 
man,  if  by  greatness  we  mean  one  who  is  superior  to  others  in  strength 
and  skill— moral,  intellectual,  or  physical."— Bancroft's  Utah,  p.  201. 

"A  notable  character  in  life's  grand  tragedy,  one  bloody  scene  cf 
which  had  so  latelj  closed,  waiting  at  the  wing  he  had  caught  his  cue, 
and  the  stirring  stage  of  Time  was  now  ready  for  his  advent."— 
Whitney's  Utah.  Vol.  1,  p.  235. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  103 

ness.*  In  April,  Governor  Ford  wrote  to  President  Young 
advising  him  to  go  west  with  his  people,  to  "get  off  by  your- 
selves" where  "you  may  enjoy  peace."  f  This  course  had 
long  been  decided  upon,  and  the  desire  to  complete  the  tem- 
ple was  all  that  delayed  the  Saints  in  carrying  out  their 
plans. 

In  the  fall  of  1845,  encouraged  by  the  acquittal  of  the 
fiends  of  Carthage,  mobs  became  more  and  more  bold  in  their 
depredations;  outrages,  burnings  and  persecutions  were  in- 
flicted afresh  upon  the  defenseless  Saints.  Their  houses 
fired,  and  their  possessions  destroyed,  they  fled  from  the  out- 
lying district  to  Nauvoo  for  protection.  J  At  this  juncture, 
Governor  Ford  called  out  the  troop?  co  restore  order.  Peace 
was  proclaimed  to  the  people,  and  the  mob  was  commanded 
to  obey  authority.  Then,  on  the  1st  of  October,  was  held  a 
conference  of  the  Mormon  leaders  and  General  Harding, 
commander  of  the  troops,  with  Attorney-General  McDougal, 
Senator  Douglas,  and  Major  Warren.  The  result  was  an 
agreement  by  the  Mormons,  who  well  knew  that  there  was  no 
alternative  between  exodus  and  extermination  by  massacre, 
to  leave  the  state  in  the  spring.  On  the  other  hand,  they 

*  Said  Josiah  Lamborn,  Esq.,  Attorney-General  of  Illinois:  "By  the 
repeal  of  your  charter,  and  by  refusing-  all  amendments  and  modifica- 
tions, our  legislature  has  given  a  kind  of  sanction  to  the  barbarous 
manner  in  which  you  have  been  treated.  It  is  truly  a  melancholy 
spectacle  to  witness  the  law-makers  of  a  sovereign  state  condescend1- 
ing  to  pander  to  the  vices,  ignorance,  and  malevolence  of  a  class  of 
people  who  are  at  all  times  ready  for  riot,  murder  and  rebellion." 

t  For  a  copy  of  this  letter,  and  other  documents  relating  to  the 
departure  of  the  Saints  from  Nauvoo.  see  Tullidge's  History  of  Salt 
Lake  City,  pp.  8-13. 

$  "Mobs  commenced  driving  out  the  Mormons  in  the  lower  part  of 
Hancock  county,  and  burning-  their  houses  and  property.— The  burn- 
ing was  continued  from  settlement  to  settlement  for  ten  or  eleven 
days  without  any  resistance  whatever," — Wells  in  Bancroft's  Utah. 

"The  mob  said  they  would  drive  all  into  Nauvoo,  and  all  Nauvoo 
into  the  Mississippi."— Richards  in  Bancroft's  Utah. 


104  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

were  not  to  be  molested  In  the  mob,  but  this  promise  was  not 
kept.  Their  removal  had  been  demanded  by  a  meeting  of 
representatives  of  nine  counties  of  the  state,  assembled  in 
Carthage. 

As  rapidly  as  possible,  preparations  were  made  to  move 
west  in  compliance  with  the  terms  of  the  agreement,  and 
with  the  decision  of  the  Church  leaders.  Land  was  disposed 
of,  leased  or  exchanged,  for  animals  and  wagons.  Property 
of  all  kinds  was  sold,  or  left  for  sale  in  the  hands  of  trusted 
agents.  So  closed  the  year  1845. 

2.    EXPELLED  FROM  ILLINOIS. 

After  a  little  less  than  seven  years  of  troubled  rest,  dur- 
ing which  time  wonderful  strides  in  temporal  as  well  as 
spiritual  progress  had  been  made,  the  Saints,  now  twenty 
thousand  strong,  once  more  must  leave  their  homes.  Driven 
again  from  their  city,  they  must  now  abandon  themselves 
to  the  mercy  of  the  savages,  journey  far  beyond  the  borders 
of  civilization. 

Hundreds  of  farms,  two  thousand  houses,  and  much  per- 
sonal property,  were  now  offered  for  sale  in  and  about  Nau- 
voo.  Their  many  public  buildings  and  their  glorious  and 
beloved  temple,  the  Saints  did  not  expect  to  sell,  but  they 
called  upon  all  good  citizens  to  aid  them  in  the  disposal  of 
their  other  possessions,  giving  the  men  of  Illinois  to  under- 
stand, however,  that  they  would  not  sacrifice  or  give  away 
their  property.  But  a  community  who  were  unwilling  to 
keep  their  own  conditions  of  the  covenant  of  peace  with  the 
Mormons,  could  not  be  expected  to  render  pecuniary  assist- 
ance to  the  afflicted  people.  Possessions  were  therefore  sold 
for  a  mere  nothing.  The  country  was  scoured  for  miles 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  105 

around,  and  property  traded  at  a  fearful  sacrifice,  for  travel- 
ing outfits. 

At  length,  hurried  by  their  enemies,  driven  almost  at 
the  point  of  the  sword,  the  Saints  gathered  in  large  num- 
hers  on  the  east  shore  of  the  river,  and,  on  February  4,  1846, 
began  crossing  the  water  on  their  way  to  the  West.  After 
that  date,  the  ferries  were  kept  busy  day  and  night  until  the 
river  froze  over,  when  crossing  was  continued  on  the  ice.  By 
the  middle  of  the  month,  a  thousand  souls,  with  their  effects, 
had  been  landed  on  the  Iowa  shore.  Proceeding,  they  made 
their  first  camp  at  Sugar  Creek,  nine  miles  west  into  Iowa.* 
They  suffered  severely,  the  ground  being  snow-covered  and 
the  weather  bitter  cold.  Sleeping  in  tents  and  wagons,  they 
and  their  sick  underwent  much  hardship  and  affliction  both 
of  body  and  mind,  driven  as  they  were  by  civilized  Chris- 
tians from  comfortable  homes,  and  camping  now  almost  in 
sight  of  these,  on  the  bleak  prairie,  in  the  dead  of  winter, 
with  no  prospects  before  them  but  snow,  storms,  savages,  and 
the  untrodden  wilderness.  Well  might  the  historian  Ban- 
croft exclaim:  "There  is  no  parallel  in  the  world's  history 
to  this  migration  from  Nauvoo."t 

On  the  15th,  they  were  joined  by  President  Young,  the 
leading  spirit  of  the  exodus,  who  began  the  temporary  organ- 
ization of  the  camp.  Firmly  but  kindly  he  gave  laws  for  the 
guidance  of  the  "Camps  of  Israel/'  enjoining  honesty  and 
morality.  Innocent  amusement  and  recreation  were  to  be 
permitted  in  moderation,  as  a  means  of  diverting  the  peoples' 
minds  from  their  past  troubles  and  present  toils  and  hard- 


*  Says  Col.  Thomas  L.  Kane :  "The  people  of  Iowa  have  told  me 
that  from  morning  to  night  they  passed  westward  like  an  endless  pro- 
cession. They  did  not  seem  greatly  out  of  heart,  they  said;  but  at 
the  top  of  every  hill,  before  they  disappeared,  were  to  be  seen  looking 
back,  like  banished  Moors,  on  their  abandoned  homes  and  the  far- 
seen  temple  and  Its  glittering  spire." 

t  Bancroft's  Utah,  p.  217. 


106  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

ships.  Having  petitioned  the  Governor  for  protection  while 
passing  through  his  territory,  President  Young  and  the 
Apostles  made  a  farewell  visit  to  Nauvoo,  holding  a  parting 
service  in  the  temple  where  the  remnant  of  the  Saints  were 
instructed  in  their  duties.  This  done,  they  returned  to  camp, 
and,  on  March  1st,  orders  to  advance  were  given.  Five  miles 
were  covered  that  day.  Then  from  day  to  day,  they  continued 
their  journey  in  rain,  snow  and  mud,  towards  the  setting 
sun,  their  hearts  cheered  by  the  God  of  the  friendless.  Many 
were  poor,  some  were  destitute,  but  all  were  as  happy  as 
could  be  under  the  circumstances.  They  never  uselessly  re- 
pined, but  watched,  prayed,  worked,  listened  to  music, 
danced,  sang  and  rejoiced.* 

At  Shoal  Creek,  near  Chariton  Eiver,  on  March  27,  a 
more  complete  organization  was  effected.  Captains  were  ap- 
pointed over  "hundreds,"  "fifties"  and  ''tens."  Keinforced 
by  fresh  arrivals,  the  companies  soon  numbered  about  three 
thousand  wagons,  thousands  of  cattle,  besides  sheep,  horses 
and  mules.  Settlements  sprang  up  in  the  wilderness  of  Iowa, 
as  if  by  magic.  They  were  called  "traveling  stakes  of  Zion," 
and  chief  among  these  were  Garden  Grove  and  Mount  Pis- 
gah,  near  which  farming  operations  were  carried  on  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  should  follow  after. 

In  July,  the  main  body  reached  the  Missouri,  settling  in 
a  place  which  they  named  Kanesville,  now  known  as  Coun- 
cil Bluffs.  President  Young  and  the  vanguard  had  arrived 
about  the  middle  of  June.  Later,  a  part  of  the  company 


*  "A  spectacle  sublime.  An  exiled  nation,  going  forth,  life  Israel 
from  Egypt,  into  the  wilderness,  there  to  worship,  unmolested,  the 
God  of  their  fathers  in  His  own  appointed  way;  that  from  their  loins 
might  spring  a  people  nursed  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  made  stalwart 
by  tribulation,  that  should  leap  from  the  mountains  in  a  day  to 
come,  and  roll  back,  an  avalanche  of  power,  to  regain  possession  of 
their  promised  land."— Whitney's  Life  of  Heber  C.  Kimball,  p.  363. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  107 

crossed  the  river  and  settled  upon  the  Pottawatomie  and 
Omaha  Indian  lands,  where  Winter  Quarters,  now  Florence, 
was  founded,  with  a  population  of  about  four  thousand  souls. 
It  was  President  Young's  intention  to  hasten  on  that 
summer  with  an  exploring  party  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  muster  for  volunteers  for  this  purpose  was  in  progress 
at  Mount  Pisgah,  under  the  direction  of  Apostle  Wilford 
Woodruff,  recently  returned  from  England,  when  a  startling 
incident  occurred  which  changed  his  plans  and  delayed  the 
migration  west  until  the  following  spring.  Their  country 
made  a  call  for  volunteers  for  quite  another  purpose — a 
requisition  for  a  battalion  of  five  hundred  men  to  take  part  in 
the  Mexican  war.  There  were  now  twelve  thousand  Mormons 
inhabiting  the  temporary  settlements  stretched  across  the 
plains  of  Iowa  from  Winter  Quarters  to  Garden  (Trove. 

3.    TWO  MILITARY  PICTURES. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause  of  the  Government's 
requisition  for  the  Mormon  Battalion,  whether  its  mustei 
was  meant  for  their  good  or  their  evil,  whether  in  answer  to 
their  petition  for  help,  or  in  fulfillment  of  Senator  Benton's 
threat  that  thev  would  be  destroyed  if  they  failed  to  com- 
ply, certain  it  is  tnat  the  Saints  viewed  it  with  alarm  as  the 
news  sped  from  tent  to  tent  through  the  "Camps  of  Israel.*' 
They  looked  upon  it  as  a  scheme  for  their  destruction,  as  a 
test  of  their  loyalty,  which,  it  was  feared,  in  the  conditions 
that  surrounded  them,  would  result  in  their  annihilation. 
Think  of  taking  five  hundred  of  the  young,  able-bodied  men, 
the  flower  of  the  camps,  from  their  present  all  but  helpless 
ranks!  Consider  the  dependent  ones  that  would  be  left  be- 
hind in  an  Indian  country,  without  means  of  support,  in  thp 
midst  of  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  an  unparalleled  exo- 


108  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

dus!  Their  plight,  too,  brought  about,  they  considered,  by 
the  nation  now  calling  for  help!  Had  it  not  thrust  them 
from  its  borders  ?  Had  not  all  their  petitions  to  it  for  redress 
been  rejected?  And  now,  that  nation  calling  upon  them  to 
assist  in  fighting  its  battles!  Then  arose  the  memories  of 
Missouri,  the  martyrdom,  their  recent  treatment  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  Illinois,  their  present  condition !  Natural  indeed 
that  they  should  ask,  What  shall  be  done  ?  What  will  our 
leaders  decide  to  do  ? 

When  Captain  James  Allen,  acting  under  General  Kear- 
ney, commander  of  the  army  of  the  west,  arrived  in  Council 
Bluffs,  on  July  1st,  to  lay  before  President  Young  his  er- 
rand to  muster  volunteers,  he  was  promptly  told  that  he 
should  have  his  men.  "You  shall  have  your  battalion/'  said 
Brigham.  The  loyalty  of  the  Mormons,  their  love  of  coun- 
try, their  devotion  to  the  Union,  were  the  considerations 
alone  that  could  have  insured  such  a  patriotic  reply  at  such  a 
time. 

There  not  being  men  enough  in  Winter  Quarters,  Presi- 
dent Young  and  others  proceeded  to  the  various  camps  in  the 
role  of  recruiting  officers.  At  Mt.  Pisgah  many  were  en- 
rolled. Messengers  were  sent  to  other  camps,  and  to  Nau- 
voo,  for  young  men,  old  men,  and  boys,  to  fill  the  places  made 
vacant  by  the  enlisted  men.  At  Council  Bluffs,  upon  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Pisgah  volunteers,  the  enrollment  was  completed, 
on  the  15th  of  July.  Addressing  the  Saints,  at  a  meeting  in 
the  Bowery,  President  Young  cautioned  them  "not  to  men- 
tion families  today.  We  want  to  conform  to  the  requisition 
made  upon  us.  We  must  raise  the  battalion.  I  say  it  is 
right;  and  who  cares  for  sacrificing  our  comfort  for  a  few 
years?'* 

The  result  is  thus  summarized  by  Col.  Kane,  who  was 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  109 

present  at  the  time:  "A  central  mass  meeting  for  counsel, 
some  harangues  at  the  remotely  scattered  camps,  an  Ameri- 
can flag  brought  out  from  the  store-house  of  things  rescued 
and  hoisted  to  the  top  of  a  tree-mast,  and  in  three  days  the 
force  was  reported,  mustered,  organized  and  ready  to  march." 

The  Battalion,  numbering  in  all  five  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  souls,  took  up  their  western  march  on  the  16th,  having 
on  the  evening  previous  taken  leave  of  their  loved  ones,  and 
enjoyed  themselves  in  a  social  re-union,  with  music,  songs 
and  dance.  For  two  thousand  miles,  from  the  Missouri  to  the 
Pacific,  the  Battalion  marched  over  dreary  deserts,  braving 
dangers  and  hardships,  finally  reaching  California,  January 
29,  1847.*  Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  the  Mormons,  let 
no  man  dare,  after  such  a  test,  to  question  their  patriotism 
and  loyalty. 

That  is  one  military  picture,  in  the  foreground  of  which 
stands  forth  prominently  patriotism  and  loyalty  to  country, 
under  the  most  trying  circumstances  that  could  be  named — • 
an  enduring  honor  to  the  Mormons. 

Now  the  other. 

After  the  departure  of  the  leaders,  in  1846,  such  haste 
was  made  by  the  remaining  Saints  to  leave  Nauvoo  as  should 
have  been  satisfactory  to  any  reasonable  person.  But  the 
anti-Mormons  affected  to  believe,  and  freely  asserted,  that 
the  Mormons  did  not  intend  to  leave  the  State,  f  In  July, 

*  Says  Lieutenant-Col.  St.  George  Cooke.  in  charge  of  the  Battal- 
ion, vice  Col.  J.  Allen,  deceased:  "History  may  be  searched  in  vain 
for  an  equal  march  of  infantry;  nine-tenths  of  it  through  a  wilder- 
ness, where  nothing  but  savages  and  wild  beasts  are  found;  or  des- 
erts where,  for  the  want  of  water,  there  is  no  living  creature.  There, 
with  almost  hopeless  labor,  we  have  dug  deep  wells,  which  the  fu- 
ture traveler  will  enjoy.  Without  a  guide  who  had 
traversed  them,  we  have  ventured  into  trackless  prairies, 
where  water  was  not  found  for  several  marches.  With  crow- 
bar and  pick-ax  in  hand,  we  have  worked  our  way  over  moun- 
tains which  seemed  to  defy  aught  save  the  wild  goat,  and  hewed  a 
passage  through  a  chasm  of  living  rock  more  narrow  than  our  wag- 
gons." 

t  "In  short,  from  the  1st  of  May  to  the  final  evacuation  of  the 
city,  the  men  of  Illinois  never  ceased  from  strife  and  outrage."— Ban- 
croft's Utah,  p.  226. 


110  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

they  raised  troops  to  march  against  Xauvoo.  The  new  citi- 
zens averted  a  conflict  at  that  time,  but  on  September  10  and 
12,  a  mob  led  by  Col.  Brockman,  a  Campbellite  preacher, 
proceeded  to  bombard  the  city.  The  citizens,  greatly  out- 
numbered, bunded  together  for  defense,  but  were  overpow- 
ered, in  a  conflict,  on  the  12th,  of  over  an  hour's  duration, 
during  which  several  citizens  were  killed.  Then  followed  a 
siege  of  several  days,  which  ended  in  a  treaty  whose  main 
provisions  were  the  surrender  of  the  city,  the  immediate  de- 
parture of  the  remaining  Mormons  (numbering  something 
over  600  souls),  the  protection  of  property  and  persons  from 
violence,  and  the  sick  to  be  treated  humanely. 

No  sooner  did  the  mob  get  possession  of  the  city,  how- 
ever, than  the  agreement  was  outrageously  violated  by  them. 
The  citizens  were  treated  with  every  indignity;  and,  finally, 
all  the  Mormons  who  had  not  already  fled,  were  forced,  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  to  abandon  their  homes  and  possessions. 
The  last  remnant  crossed  the  river  September  17.  They,  and 
their  sick  and  destitute,  were  dumped,  shelterless,  penniless, 
with  scarcely  any  food  or  clothing,  upon  the  flats  of  the  west- 
ern shore  of  the  Mississippi.  Their  deserted  city  was  pil- 
laged, plundered;  its  holy  temple  desecrated  with  the  boister- 
ous orgies  and  vulgar  songs  of  a  drunken  mob. 

What  became  of  the  driven  Mormons?  "Where 
were  they?  They  had  last  been  seen,  carrying  in  mournful 
train  their  sick  and  wounded,  halt  and  blind,  to  disappear 
behind  the  western  horizon,  pursuing  the  phantom  of  an- 
other home.  Hardly  anything  else  was  known  of  them;  and 
people  asked  with  curiosity,  what  had  been  their  fate — what 
their  fortune."! 


t  From  Col.  Kane's  lecture  before   the  Historical   Society  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  Ill 

And  all  this,  while  their  brethren  of  the  Mormon  Bat- 
talion were  marching  under  the  good  old  flag  to  do  battle  for 
our  country's  cause,  on  the  plains  of  Mexico ! 

That  is  another  military  picture,  in  which  the  sullied 
good  name  of  one  of  the  sovereign  states  of  the  Union,  Illi- 
nois, with  her  weak  and  wavering  Governor,  stands  promi- 
nently in  the  foreground  to  their  everlasting  shame  and  dis- 
grace. 

Most  of  the  twenty  thousand  population  of  Nauvoo  were 
now  sojourning  in  the  wilderness  with  the  "Camps  of  Israel." 
They  endured  much  suffering.  There  was  a  lack  of  food  and 
clothing.  Fevers  broke  out  among  them,  and  many  slept  the 
sleep  of  death  on  the  prairies.  At  Winter  Quarters  alone, 
there  were  over  six  hundred  buried.  Yet  with  all  this,  the 
spirits  of  the  people  were  kept  buoyant  with  labor  and  the 
hope  of  better  days.* 


*  Their  souls  were  kept  buoyant  with  simple  amusements,  labor, 
songs,  and  innocent  recreations.  It  was  here,  and  on  their  further 
journey  to  the  mountains,  that  this  wonderful  pioneer  song  of  the 
Latter-day  Saints  was  sung  with  spirit  and  with  feeling: 

Come,    come,    ye    Saints,    no    toil    nor    labor    fear, 

But  with  joy  wend  your  way; 
Though  hard  to  you  this   journey    may    appear, 

Grace  shall  be  as  your  day. 
'Tls  better  far  for  us  to   strive, 
Our  useless   cares   from    us    to   drive. 
Do  this  and  joy  your  hearts  will  swell- 
All  is   well!   all  is  well! 

Why  should  we  mourn,   or  think  our  lot  is  hard? 

'Tis  not  so;   all  is  right! 
Why  should  we  think  to    earn    a   great   reward, 

If  we  now  shun  the  fight? 
Gird  up  your  loins,  fresh    courage    take, 
Our  God  will  never  us    forsake; 
And  soon  we'll  have  this    tale    to    tell- 
All   is   well!   all  is   well! 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

In  Winter  Quarters,  nearly  seven  hundred  log  and  turf 
houses  were  erected,  the  city  being  laid  out  with  streets  in 
regular  order.  There  were  factories,  shops,  mills,  and  a 
tabernacle  of  worship,  the  whole  being  fortified  in  frontier 
fashion.  Everybody  was  kept  busy,  the  organizations  of  the 
Church  were  continued,  religious  meetings  held,  missionaries 
sent  abroad,  schools  established.  Many  scattered  through 
the  western  states  in  search  of  work.  Teams  and  supplies 
were  sent  back  to  relieve  the  poor  remnants  of  Nauvoo,  in 
their  flight  from  tyrant  mobs. 

And  so  passed  the  winter  of  18l6-  /. 

4.    THE  PIONEERS  AND  FIRST  COMPANIES. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1847,  President  Brigham 
Young  made  known  "The  Word  and  Will  of  the  Lord  Con- 
cerning the  Camps  of  Israel  in  their  Journeyings  to  the 


We'll  find  the  place  which  God  for  us  prepared, 

Far  away  In  the  West; 
Where  none  shall  come  to  hurt  ror  make  afraid: 

There  the  Saints  will  be  blessed. 
We'll  make  the  air  with  music  ring, 
Shout  praises  to  our  God  and  King; 
Above  the  rest  these  words  we'll  tell— 

All  la  well !  all  Is  well ! 

And  should  we  die  before  our  journey's  through, 
Happy  day !  all  Is  well ! 

We  then  are  free  from  toll  and  sorrow  to, 
With  the  just  we  shall  dwell. 

But  If  our  lives  are  spared  again 

To  see  the  Saints,  their  rest  obtain, 

O  how  we'll  make  this  chorus  swell- 
All  Is  well !  all  it  well ! 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  113 

West."*  In  this  manifesto  are  found  the  instructions  that 
should  guide  the  Saints  in  their  continued  travels.  In  con- 
formity therewith,  they  made  early  preparations  to  vacate 
Winter  Quarters,  anfl.  to  depart  for  their  unknown  inherit- 
ances in  the  wilderness.  Twelve  times  twelve  able-bodied 
men  were  selected  to  pave  the  way.  f  These  pioneers  started 
from  Winter  Quarters  on  the  7th  of  April.  On  the  8th,  they 
encamped  near  the  Elkhorn;  and,  during  the  next  few  days 
following  the  17th  of  April,  when  the  camp  was  about  sixty 
miles  west  of  the  starting  point,  the  members  were  organ- 
ized thoroughly  into  a  military  company,  with  Brigham 
Young  as  Lieutenant-General,  Stephen  Markham  as  Colonel, 
and  fourteen  captains. 

Prepared  and  equipped  to  fight  (if  necessary),  and  to 
construct  their  way  over  the  rivers,  plains  and  mountains  of 
the  thousand-mile  journey  before  them,  they  continued  their 
westward,  pilgrim  march  for  three  months  and  seventeen 
days.  They  followed  the  north  bank  of  the  Platte,  making  a 
new  road,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  should  come 
after,  for  over  six  hundred  miles,  and  for  the  remainder 
of  the  distance  following  a  trail  made  by  trappers.  At 
length,  after  many  thrilling  experiences,  on  the  since  cele- 
brated 24th  of  July,  President  Young  and  his  band  of 
pioneers  entered  the  Valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  The 
deserts  and  mountains  had  been  penetrated.  About  the 
grateful  wanderers,  bathed  in  the  thin,  clear  air,  lay  the  new 
land  of  Zion,  the  resting-place  beheld  by  their  inspired  leader 
when  the  voice  whispered  to  him:  '"Here  is  the  place  where 


*  See  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section  136. 

t  One  of  these,  Ellis  Eames,  fell  sick,  and  returned  to  camp,  leaving  the 
number  of  the  Pioneers  at  143,  with  three  women  and  two  children.  They 
had  seventy-two  wagons,  ninety-three  horses,  fifty  two  mules,  sixty-six 
oxen,  and  nineteen  cows,  besides  seventeen  dogs  and  some  chickens. 


114  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

my  people  Israe    shall  pitch,  their  tents."    The  hills  rever- 
berated to  their  hosanna  shouts  of  praise  and  joy.* 

The  25th  being  Sunday,  they  held  two  religious  services, 
thanking  God  for  their  deliverance.  Pointing  to  the  ancient 
prophecies,  the  speakers  maintained  that  these  foretold  of 
their  coming :  "Oh  Zion,  that  bringest  good  tidings,  get  thee 
up  into  the  high  mountain/'  And,  again,  God  was  to  "hide 
his  people  in  the  chambers  of  the  mountains,"  and  in  the  last 
days  was  to  "establish  his  house  on  the  tops  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  exalt  it  above  the  hills.'7 f 

Losing  no  time,  they  began  early  the  next  day  to  plant 
potatoes  and  grain.  Companies  were  organized  to  explore 
the  surrounding  regions.  The  tall  mountain  north  of  the 
settlement  was  scaled,  and  its  summit  called  Ensign  Peak,  be- 
cause it  was  a  suitable  place  to  raise  an  ensign  to  the  nations. 
The  river,  the  lake,  and  the  hot  springs  were  visited.  On  the 
28th,  a  spot  for  a  temple  was  selected,  and  the  general  plan 
of  the  city  decided  upon.  In  the  early  part  of  August,  the 
Twelve  and  many  of  the  people,  renewed  their  covenants  by 
baptism.  Everybody  was  kept  busy.  Some  were  tilling  the 
soil,  some  cutting  and  hauling  timber,  building,  making 
adobes,  and  otherwise  preparing  for  the  Saints  who  were  to 
follow  after  and  inhabit.  All  were  anxious  to  do  as  much 
as  possible  before  returning  to  assist  their  friends.  The 
pioneers  had  been  re-inf orced,  soon  after  their  arrival,  by  one 
hundred  and  forty  men  of  the  Mormon  Battalion  detach- 
ment, and  about  one  hundred  Saints  from  Mississippi. 

At  a  conference  on  the  22nd  day  of  August,  a  Stake  of 


*  "In  the  heart  of  America,  they  are  now  upon  the  border  of  a  new 
Holy  Land,  with  its  Desert  and  its  Dead  Sea,  its  River  Jordan, 
Mount  of  Olives  and  Galilee  Lake,  and  a  hundred  other  features  of 
its  prototype  of  Asia."— Bancroft's  Utah,  p.  258. 

t  Isaiah  xl:  9,   ii;  23. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  115 

Zion  was  organized,  with  Father  John  Smith  as  President. 
At  this  time,  the  settlement  was  named  Great  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  the  surrounding  creeks  and  canyons  and  the  river  Jor- 
dan were  christened.  The  whole  region  whose  waters  flow 
into  the  Lake  WSLS  called  the  Great  Basin. 

On  the  17th,  seventy-one  men,  mostly  of  the  Battalion, 
had  returned,  well  organized,  to  Winter  Quarters.  Later, 
August  26th,  President  Young  and  a  company  of  one  hund- 
red and  seven  persons,  also  mostly  Battalion  men  who  had 
families  among  the  Saints,  started  for  Winter  Quarters,  bid- 
ding "a  hearty  good-by  to  all  who  tarry."* 

In  the  track  of  the  pioneers  were  now  moving  several 
companies  of  Saints — distinguished  as  the  first  emigrations. 
In  June,  these  were  organized  on  the  Elk  Horn,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  instructions  left  by  President  Young.  Apos- 
tles Parley  P.  Pratt  and  John  Taylor  exercised  general  super- 
vision of  the  emigrants,  who  were  directed  by  the  committee 
appointed  for  this  purpose.  There  were  all  told  about  560 
wagons,  1,553  men,  women  and  children,  with  about  5,000 
head  of  stock.  John  Young  was  the  general  commander, 
with  John  Van  Cott,  marshal.  Then  there  were  four  cap- 
tains of  hundreds — Daniel  Spencer,  Edward  Hunter,  Jede- 
diah  M.  Grant,  Abraham  0.  Smoot — with  sub-captains  and 
divisions  of  "fifties"  and  "tens;"  also  an  "artillerv  company" 
under  General  C.  C.  Eich.  Among  the  many  prominent 
founders  of  Utah  who  were  along  with  these  camps  may  be 

*  Says  Wilford  Woodruff:  "We  have  traveled  with  heavily  laden 
wagons  more  than  a  thousand  miles,  over  rough  roads,  mountains 
and  canyons,  searching  out  a  land,  a  resting-place  for  the  Saints.  We 
have  laid  out  a  city  two  miles  square,  and  built  a  fort  of  hewn  tim- 
ber drawn  seven  miles  from  the  mountains,  and  of  sun-dried  bricks 
and  adobes,  surrounding  ten  acres  of  ground,  forty  rods  of  which 
covered  with  block-houses,  besides  planting  about  ten  acres  of  corn 
and  vegetables.  All  this  we  have  done  in  a  single  month." 


116  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

named  George  Q.  Cannon  (then  a  youth  of  twenty),  Eliza  K. 
Snow,  John  Smith  (who  had  been  sustained  as  President  of 
the  Salt  Lake  Stake),  Lorin  Fair,  the  Thatchers,  William 
Hyde,  Jacob  Gates,  William  W.  Eiter,  William  C.  Staines, 
Jesse  N.  Smith  and  Chauncey  W.  West. 

The  Saints  left  the  Elk  Horn  in  two  companies — on  the 
18th  of  June,  and  on  the  4th  of  July.  Their  progress  was 
hindered  by  stampedes,  and  the  loss  of  cattle;  and  they  had 
some  trouble  with  the  Indians.  There  were  six  or  seven 
deaths  and  a  number  of  births  on  the  journey.  Their  meet- 
ings with  the  pioneers  were  occasions  of  great  rejoicings.  On 
the  Sweetwater,  a  grand  feast  was  held  in  honor  of  President 
Young,  at  the  instance  of  Apostle  Tajdor  and  Bishop  Hun- 
ter. Important  councils  were  held  at  various  times,  and  the 
Saints,  who  now  learned  for  the  first  time  where  their  des- 
tination was,  were  cheered  and  encouraged  by  the  returning 
pioneers. 

In  the  latter  part  of  September,  the  companies  began  ar- 
riving in  the  Valley,  and  before  the  middle  of  October,  all 
the  trains  had  reached  the  journey's  end  in  safety. 

Beaching  Winter  Quarters  on  the  31st  of  October,  the 
returning  brethren,  many  of  whom  had  not  seen  their  fami- 
lies since  the  eventful  July  16,  1846,  when  they  parted  with 
them  at  their  country's  call,  were  warmly  greeted  by  their 
friends  and  loved  ones. 

5.    MIGRATION  OP  THE  MAIN  BODY  WEST. 

There  were  now  two  Stakes  of  Zion — one  on  the  Mis- 
souri, which  continued  to  be  the  headquarters  owing  to  the 
presence  of  President  Young  and  most  of  the  Twelve,  and 
one  on  the  borders  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  in  the  midst  of 
the  mountains.  A  thousand  miles  apart,  cheerful  and  united, 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  117 

but  struggling  still  with  hardships  and  ever-recurring  new 
difficulties,  the  Saints  spent  the  winter  of  1847-8. 

In  Winter  Quarters,  they  had  prospered  abundantly. 
True,  there  had  been  some  sickness  and  deaths,  but  the  cli- 
mate was  much  improved.  On  the  whole,  health,  abiding 
peace,  and  good  will,  prevailed  among  the  faithful  inhabit- 
ants. In  contentment  and  quiet,  the  winter  passed  away, 
preparations  being  eagerly  made  for  the  contemplated  mi- 
gration in  the  spring. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  at  a  council  of  the  Apostles, 
it  was  decided  to  organize  the  quorum  of  the  First  Presi- 
dency, vacant  since  the  martyrdom  of  the  Prophet.  Brigham 
Young,  the  chief  Apostle,  was  then  chosen  President  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  The  action 
of  the  Twelve  was  ratified  at  a  conference  of  the  Church  on 
the  27th,  and  on  the  8th  of  October  the  following  year  was 
confirmed  by  a  conference  at  Great  Salt  Lake  City.  The 
Apostles  also  issued  a  general  epistle,  calling  upon  the  Saints 
to  gather  to  the  new  Zion  in  the  mountains,  and  upon  all 
"presidents,  and  emperors,  and  kings,  and  princes,  and  no- 
bles and  governors,  and  rulers,  and  judges,  and  all  nations, 
and  kindreds,  tongues,  and  people  under  the  whole  heaven, 
to  come  and  help  us  to  build  a  house  to  the  name  of  the 
God  of  Jacob,  a  place  of  peace,  a  city  of  rest,  a  habitation 
for  the  oppressed  of  every  clime/'* 

The  seventeen  hundred  souls  who  dwelt  in  Great  Salt 
Lake  City  passed  through  the  season  enjoying  moderate  com- 
fort under  the  circumstances,  f  The  winter  was  mild  with 


*  See  Millennial  Star,  Vol.  10.  p.  81. 

t  Tliey  dwelt  in  423  houses,  had  5,133  acres  of  cultivated  land,  and 
875  acres  sown  with  winter  wheat. 


118  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

but  little  snow.  On  October  3,  after  their  arrival,  the  first 
stake  organization  was  completed.  Father  John  Smith, 
president;  Charles  C.  Rich  and  John  Young,  counselors.  A 
High  Council  was  also  organized.  Tarleton  Lewis  was  chosen 
Bishop.  Some  of  the  Battalion  men,  returning  from  Califor- 
nia, brought  wheat,  corn,  potatoes  and  garden  seeds,  while 
more  seeds,  also  live  stock,  were  subsequently  imported  by 
settlers  who  visited  the  coast.  In  the  spring,  wild  sego  and 
parsnip  roots,  and  later  thistle  tops,  constituted  the  vegetable 
diet.  Their  beef  had  been  very  poor.  Dissecting  some  of 
it,  at  one  time,  Apostle  Taylor  suggested  that  the  saw  be 
greased  to  make  it  work.  In  some  instances,  skins  served  in 
lieu  of  clothing.  Catamounts,  wolves,  foxes,  mice,  and  bed- 
bugs, each  contributed  to  make  matters  unpleasant  for  the 
new  settlers. 

The  most  serious  plague,  however,  was  yet  to  come.  It 
was  the  crickets.  Appearing  in  May  and  June,  1848,  black 
legions  of  these  pests  invaded  the  fields  and  gardens,  liter- 
ally sweeping  the  earth  clean  wherever  they  passed.  All  the 
efforts  of  the  settlers,  who,  living  upon  sego  roots  and  this- 
tles, fought  with  the  desperation  of  souls  who  have  starva- 
tion staring  them  in  the  face,  to  save  their  crops  were  un- 
availing. There  seemed  to  be  no  help.  The  harvest  would 
go,  and  with  it  the  lives  dependent  upon  it !  At  this  critical 
time,  immense  flocks  of  gulls  came  from  the  islands  of  the 
lake  to  feast  upon  the  crickets.  All  day  they  ate,  gorged, 
vomited,  then  feasted  again,  returning  each  day  until  the 
cricket  foe  was  vanquished.  The  thankful  and  astonished 
settlers  looked  on  in  wonder,  praising  God  that  through  a 
manifestation  of  His  providence  they  were  saved!  It  is  nnt, 
strange  that  to  this  day  the  gull  is  a  sacred  bird  among  the 
Saints.  In  memory  of  their  service  to  the  undaunted 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  119 

pioneer,  the  children  of  the  new  State  of  Utah,  should  ever 
hold  in  loving  reverence  the  gull  and  the  sego  lily. 

On  the  10th  day  of  August,  the  settlers  celebrated  their 
first  harvest  home.  "Large  sheaves  of  wheat,"  says  Parley  P. 
Pratt,  "rye,  barley,  oats  and  other  productions  were  hoisted 
on  poles  for  public  exhibition,  and  there  was  prayer  and 
thanksgiving,  congratulations,  songs,  speeches,  music,  danc- 
ing, smiling  faces,  and  merry  hearts. "  Some  of  the  Battalion 
men,  who  had  remained  at  work  in  California,  returning,  in- 
creased the  population  to  about  1800  souls.  They  were 
among  the  first  to  discover  the  gold  fields  which  were  soon 
to  set  aflame  the  civilized  world.  Some  of  the  dust  they 
brought  with  them  to  the  valley. 

Turning  now  to  the  Missouri,  we  find  that  early  in  1848, 
active  operations  were  engaged  in  to  migrate  the  main  body 
of  the  Church  to  the  mountains.  Winter  Quarters  would 
shortly  be  vacated.  Desiring  an  outfitting  post  in  the  East, 
the  Mormon  leaders  petitioned  the  legislature  of  Iowa  for  the 
organization  of  Pottawatomie  County,  and  built  the  town  of 
Kanesville,  east  of  the  river  a  few  miles  above  the  present 
city  of  Council  Bluffs.  At  this  place,  for  several  years,  the 
Mormon  emigrations  were  equipped  for  their  journeys  over 
the  plains.  Coming  from  Europe,  they  sailed  up  the  rivers 
from  New  Orleans.  The  first  river-route  company  came  un- 
der direction  of  Apostle  Franklin  D.  Kichards,  landing  in 
Winter  Quarters  a  short  time  before  the  first  company  of 
that  year  started  for  the  mountains. 

In  preparation  of  the  approaching  departure,  on  Sun- 
day, May  14,  President  Young  publicly  pronounced  blessings 
upon  those  who  were  going  with  him  to  the  valley,  as  well 
as  upon  those  who  were  to  remain.  On  this  occasion,  he 
prophesied  that  the  Saints  would  never  be  driven  from  the 


120  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Eocky  Mountains.  On  the  24th,  he  led  out  for  the  Elk  Horn, 
where  the  companies  were  thoroughly  organized.*  They  "be- 
gan their  westward  travels  about  the  beginning  of  June. 
There  were  three  companies — Brigham  Young,  who  had 
general  command  of  all  of  them  (Daniel  II.  Wells,  his  aide- 
de-camp,  and  H.  S.  Eldredge,  marshal)  came  first  with  1229 
souls,  and  397  wagons;  Heber  C.  Kimball,  with  662  souls  and 
226  wagons;  Willard  Eichards,  with  526  souls  and  169 
wagons,  f  When  the  last  wagon  left,  on  the  3rd  of  July, 
Winter  Quarters  was  almost  deserted.  With  this  emigra- 
tion were  such  famous  men  in  Utah  history  as  Lorenzo  Snow, 
Franklin  D.  Eichards,  Joseph  F.  Smith,  Newel  K.  Whitney, 
Eobert  T.  Burton,  Hosea  Stout,  and  many  others.  Several 
of  the  Apostles  who  were  to  go  on  missions  remained  in 
Kanesville,  where,  on  February  7,  1849,  Orson  Hyde  began 
the  publication  of  the  Frontier  Guardian. 

The  companies  all  followed  in  the  route  of  the  Pioneers. 
President  Young  arrived  in  Great  Salt  Lake  City  on  the 
20th  of  September,  1848,  and,  within  a  month,  all  the  trains 
had  safely  entered  the  valley.  Their  presence  swelled  the 
population  to  5000  souls. 

The  Church  was  now  in  the  "Great  American  Desert,'' 
led  thither  under  the  inspired  direction  of  Brigham  Young, 
one  of  the  greatest  colonizers  our  country  has  ever  known. 
It  was  a  desolate  abiding  place,  shunned  by  all  who  passed 


*  To  those  who  met  them  on  the  route,  the  strict  order  of  their 
march,  their  coolness  and  rapidity  in  closing-  ranks  to  repel  assaults, 
their  method  in  posting-  sentries  around  camp  and  corral,  suggest- 
ed rather  the  movements  of  a  well-organized  army  than  the  migra- 
tion of  a  people;  and.  in  truth,  few  armies  have  been  better  organized 
or  more  ably  led  than  was  this  army  of  the  Lord."— Bancroft's  Utah, 
p.  284. 

t  There  were  besides  in  all  the  companies,  2012  oxen,  983  cows,  131 
horses,  116  mules,  654  sheep,  334  loose  cattle,  337  pigs  904  chickens,  134 
dogs,  54  cats,  3  goats',  1  goose,  5  ducks,  11  doves,  1  squirrel,  and  5  hives 
of  bees. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  121 

because  of  its  sterility.  It  was  the  most  inhospitable  and 
forbidding  portion  of  the  vast  western  region  of  which  the 
great  statesman,  Daniel  Webster,  said:  "What  do  we  want 
with  this  vast,  worthless  area?  This  region  of  savages  and 
wild  beasts,  of  deserts,  of  shifting  sands  and  whirlwinds  of 
dust,  of  cactus  and  prairie  dogs  ?  To  what  use  could  we  ever 
hope  to  put  these  great  deserts,  or  those  endless  mountain 
ranges,  impenetrable,  and  covered  to  their  very  base  with 
eternal  snow?" 

Yet  in  the  heart  of  this  domain,  the  exiled  Mormons 
chose  to  build  their  homes.  They  loved  it  because  of  its 
promise  of  liberty;  because  of  the  freedom  that  encircled 
them.  By  arduous  toil  and  the  blessings  of  G-od,  they  have 
built  their  scores  of  thrifty  cities,  subdued  the  sandy  desert, 
made  a  garden  of  the  wilderness,  and  expanded  over  its  dis- 
tant borders  to  plant  their  settlements  in  many  surrounding 
states. 

6.    COLONIZATION. 

To  obtain  pasturage  for  their  stock,  several  of  the 
pioneers,  soon  after  their  arrival,  pressed  north  founding 
the  settlements  in  what  is  now  Davis  County.*  These  new 
places  continued  to  thrive,  and  before  the  close  of  1848, 
there  were  colonies  near  the  present  Bountiful,  Kaysville, 
Farmington,  and  in  other  places.  In  January  of  that  year, 
Captain  James  Bro^n  purchased  the  Miles  Goodyear  claim 
which  included  the  present  site  of  Ogden  City,  and  the  great- 
er portion  of  Weber  County. 

These  movements  to  occupy  the  land  \vere  made  agree- 
able to  the  instructions  of  President  Young,  end  were  a  part 


*  So  named  after  Captain  D.  C.    Davis    of    the    Mormon    Battalion, 
who  settled  near  the  present  site  of  Farmington. 


122  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

of  his  grand  scheme  to  colonize  the  mountain  region  with 
his  people.  Upon  his  arrival,  in  September,  1848,  this  mat- 
ter was  uppermost  in  his  mind,  hut  he  found  that  the  first 
great  question  to  he  solved  was  how  to  husband  the  short 
supply  of  food.  The  crops  were  not  so  abundant  that  there 
would  be  sufficient  for  the  now  increased  population.  The 
new  companies  had  brought  only  little  with  them.  As  a  re- 
sult, before  a  new  harvest,  there  was  great  scarcity  of  food, 
much  privation  and  suffering  among  the  people,  which,  how- 
ever, were  materially  alleviated  by  the  spirit  of  kindness,  one- 
ness and  helpfulness  that  prevailed.*  In  community  fash- 
ion, the  needy  were  helped  oy  those  who  had  supplies.  To 
add  to  their  misfortunes,  the  winter  of  1848-9  was  very  se- 
vere. 

It  was  while  the  people  were  thus  distressed  that  Heber 
C.  Kimball  prophesied  that  within  three  years  "States  goods" 
would  be  sold  cheaper  in  Salt  Lake  Valley  than  in  New  York. 
His  prophetic  utterance  found  remarkable  fulfillment  when 
the  adventurous  gold  hunters  from  all  parts  of  the  earth 
made  Salt  Lake  their  "half-way  house,"  leaving  their  mer- 
chandise, provisions  and  implements,  with  the  destitute  set- 
tlers in  exchange  for  animals  to  carry  them  more  hurriedly 
to  their  destination.  This  was  in  1849,  and  when  the  settlers 
grandly  celebrated  the  second  anniversary  of  their  arrival 
into  the  Valley,  the  prophecy  uttered  the  year  previous  was 
being  fulfilled.  At  the  grand  feast,  hundreds  of  west-bound 
emigrants  dined  with  the  happy  Mormons.  But  even  this 
manifestation  of  divine  provision  was  not  enough  to  prevent 
some  of  the  Saints  from  contracting  the  gold  fever.  It  took 


*  "Roots  had  to  be  dug  from  the  ground  for  food,  raw  hides  were 
torn  down  from  roofs,  cut  into  shreds  and  cooked.  Very  little  game 
was  found  near  the  city;  some  fish  were  obtained."— Contributor,  Vol. 
2,  p.  176. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  123 

the  best  efforts  and  the  wisest  judgment  of  their  leaders  to 
intercept  the  threatened  general  migration  to  the  golden 
west,  which  would  have  heen  then  as  great  a  calamity  as 
could  have  befallen  The  Church. 

The  people  were  stirred  to  activity.  In  the  fall  of  1848, 
five  thousand  acres  of  land  were  plotted  for  fencing  and  cul- 
tivation, over  eight  hundred  were  sowed  in  winter  wheat. 
The  council  house  was  projected,  roads  were  constructed, 
grist  and  saw  mills  were  erected,  bridges  built,  and  a  proposi- 
tion was  made  to  bring  the  waters  of  the  Big  Cottonwood  to 
the  city.  Lots  were  distributed  to  the  settlers  some  of  whom, 
moving  out  of  the  "Fort,"  settled  upon  these.  To  obviate 
the  inconvenience  of  a  lack  of  circulating  medium,  pending 
the  procuring  of  a  stamp  to  coin  the  gold  dust  brought  by 
the  Battalion  men,  a  paper  currency  was  issued  in  January, 
1849.  Fifty-cent  and  one-dollar  bills,  upon  which  the  first 
printing  in  the  Valley  was  done,  were  stamped;  and  a  resolu- 
tion was  passed  placing  certain  Kirtland  Bank  bills  in  cir- 
culation, thus  making  these  notes  as  good  as  gold,  in  fulfill- 
ment of  a  prophecy  to  that  effect  by  the  Prophet  Joseph. 
Later,  the  gold  dust  was  coined  into  $2.50,  $5,  $10,  and  $20 
pieces  which  were  used  until  superceded  by  legal  tender, 
when  they  were  disposed  of  as  bunion  to  the  federal  mints. 

Keeping  constantly  in  view  their  religious  duties  in  the 
midst  of  their  temporal  labors,  the  organizations  of  The 
Church  were  never  neglected.  On  February  12,  1849,  the 
quorum  of  Twelve  was  filled  by  the  calling  and  ordination  of 
Charles  C.  Rich,  Lorenzo  Snow,  Erastus  Snow  and  Franklin 
D.  Richards  to  the  apostleship.  A  permanent  stake  organ- 
ization was  also  perfected,  and  the  city  was  divided  into  nine- 
teen ecclesiastical  wards  with  a  bishop  over  each.  The 
gathering  was  not  forgotten.  In  1849,  there  were  about 


124  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

thirty  thousand  Saints  in  Great  Britain,  ten  thousand  of 
whom  had  joined  The  Church  in  the  past  fifteen  months. 
To  assist  in  redeeming  the  country,  as  well  as  to  carry  out  the 
commands  of  God,  it  was  desirable  that  these  should  be 
brought  to  the  mountains.  For  the  purpose  of  aiding  the 
poor  among  them  to  migrate,  the  Perpetual  Emigrating 
Fund  was  established  in  October.  A  large  sum  of  money 
was  obtained  for  this  fund  which  was  kept  in  operation 
thereafter  for  upwards  of  forty  years,  and  was  the  means  of 
assisting  thousands  to  emigrate  from  the  poverty  of  the  Old 
World  to  the  better  surroundings  of  the  New.  Bishop  Ed- 
ward Hunter  was  sent  to  the  frontier  to  put  its  provisions 
into  operation,  and  to  take  charge  of  the  next  season's 
emigration.  At  the  same  time,  many  prominent  Elders  were 
called  to  go  to  various  parts  of  the  earth  on  missions.  They 
opened  the  gospel  door  to  France,  Scandinavia,  Italy,  Lower 
California,  and  the  Society  Islands,  or  were  sent  to  other 
regions  to  continue  the  work  of  promulgation.  The  first 
company  brought  across  the  plains  by  the  Emigrating  Com- 
pany arrived  in  Salt  Lake  on  the  13th  of  October,  1850. 

Colonization  continued.  What  is  now  Utah,  Sanpete,  and 
Tooele  counties,  were  explored  and  settled,  also  Sevier,  Iron 
and  other  southern  counties.  Later  followed  exploring  par- 
ties and  colonies  to  all  parts  of  the  territory.  In  each  of 
these,  the  various  crafts  were  represented.  They  provided 
themselves  with  plenty  of  provisions,  stock,  implements  and 
other  necessaries.  They  were  generally  composed  of  volun- 
teers, and  were  sent  out  by  the  great  colonizer,  Brigham 
Young,  under  proper  ecclesiastical  organization.  Until  the  in- 
troduction of  a  regular  civil  government,  the  Church  officers 
held  secular  or  temporal  administration  over  the  people. 
The  public  labors  were  performed  under  their  direction, 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  125 

they  were  the  judges  among  the  people,  and  under  their 
supervision  and  advice  went  on  the  great  work  of  founding 
and  building  cities,  of  redeeming  the  desert.  Marvelous  in- 
deed are  the  labors  of  these  empire  founders.  At  present, 
they  and  their  children  occupy  the  country  extending  for 
over  a  thousand  miles  from  Mexico  to  Canada,  and  their 
numerous  thrifty  cities  and  villages  are  found  in  the  valleys 
of  the  mountains  in  nearly  every  state  and  territory  of  the 
mighty  West.  The  Saints  are  the  remnants  of  Israel  gath- 
ered out  from  the  coasts  of  the  earth,  and  truly  God  hath 
wrought  through  them  "a  marvelous  work  and  a  wonder."1 

7.    UTAH  TERRITORY  ORGANIZED.-EVENTS  FOLLOWING. 

Up  to  the  spring  of  1849,  when  the  political  history  of 
Utah  properly  begins,  the  settlers  had  been  governed  ex- 
clusively by  the  excellent  ecclesiastical  organizations.  There 
had  been  little  need  and  less  time  for  civil  government,  but 
as  emigrants  of  other  faiths  began  to  come  into  their  midst, 
there  was  a  desire  among  the  leaders  of  the  people  to  come  in 
under  the  folds  of  the  Union,  as  indeed  there  had  been  from 
the  beginning,  notwithstanding  they  had  been  driven  by  our 
nation  to  a  foreign  country. 

By  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  signed  February  2, 
1848,  the  United  States  had  come  into  the  possession  of  the 
vast  western  region  from  which  was  afterward  formed  the 
States  and  Territories  of  California,  Nevada,  Utah,  New 
Mexico,  and  Arizona.  The  Mormons  were  well  nigh  the  only 
occupants  of  the  new  domain,  and  they  were  hopeful  and 
energetic  enough  to  believe  that  in  time  they  could  subdue 
and  occupy  the  country  which  they  had  assisted  in  wresting 
from  Mexico,  and  opened  up  to  civilization. 

With  a  view  of  introducing  civil  government  to  this 
area,  early  in  March,  1849,  a  convention  was  called  of  "all  the 


126  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

citizens  of  that  part  of  Upper  California  lying  east  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  to  take  into  consideration  the  pro- 
priety of  organizing  a  territorial  or  state  government."  This 
convention  assembled  in  Salt  Lake  City  on  the  4th  of  March. 
A  memorial,  signed  hy  Brigham  Young  and  2,270  others,  was 
sent  to  Congress,  as  a  result  of  this  convention,  April  30, 
asking  for  a  "territorial  government  of  the  most  liberal  con- 
struction authorized  by  our  most  excellent  federal  constitu- 
tion, with  the  least  possible  delay,"  which  was  carried  to 
Washington  by  Dr.  J.  M.  Bernhisel. 

At  the  convention,  a  committee  was  also  selected  to  draft 
a  constitution  under  which  the  people  might  govern  them- 
selves, until  Congress  should  take  action  and  otherwise  pro- 
vide by  law.  On  the  10th  of  March,  the  constitution  was 
adopted  and  a  Provisional  Government  was  organized  un- 
der the  name  of  the  State  of  Deseret.  A  legislature,  or  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  State  of  Deseret,  consisting  of  Senate 
and  House  of  Eepresentatives,  was  also  elected  with  powers 
and  duties  defined.  Brigham  Young  was  elected  Governor.* 
Under  this  form  of  government,  purely  Mormon,  and  not  yet 
sanctioned  by  the  authority  of  Congress,  the  new  state  was 
governed  for  nearly  two  years.  Justice  was  equitably  admin- 
istered to  all — both  non-Mormon  and  Mormon,  and  the  de- 
cisions of  the  courts,  constantly  appealed  to  by  passing  emi- 
grants, were  remarkable  for  fairness  and  impartiality.! 


*  Willard  Richards,  secretary;  Horace  S.  Eldredge,  marshal;  Dan- 
iel H.  Wells,  attorney-general;  besides  an  assessor  and  collector,  a 
treasurer,  and  supervisor  of  roads;  also  three  judges,— Heber  C.  Kim- 
ball,  chief  justice,  and  John  Taylor  and  Newel  K.  Whitney,  associates. 
The  bishops  of  the  several  wards  were  elected  as  magistrates. 

t  So  testifies  Captain  Howard  Stansbury.  of  the  U.  S.  Army  Corps 
of  Topographical  Engineers,  who  came  to  Salt  Lake  City  on  the  28th 
of  August,  1849,  wintered  there,  and  remained  with  his  expedition  in 
the  Territory  for  a  whole  year,  exploring  and  surveying  the  Valley  of 
the  Great  Salt  Lake,  also  Utah  Lake  and  its  vicinity,  also  a  route 
from  the  Valley  to  Fort  Hall.  His  widely  circulated  report  to  the 
Government  is  authority  throughout  the  world  in  relation  to  Utah  and 
the  people  who  reclaimed  it  from  a  desert. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  127 

On  July  2,  1849,  the  General  Assembly  of  Deseret  met 
at  Salt  Lake  City,  and  by  joint  agreement  of  its  two  houses, 
it  was  decided  to  pray  for  the  admission  of  Deseret  as  a  state 
of  the  Union.  A  new  memorial  was  consequently  then  pre- 
pared. Almon  W.  Babbit  was  elected  delegate  to  Congress, 
and  was  sent  to  Washington,  bearing  the  memorial  and  the 
constitution  of  the  proposed  state.  Mr.  Babbit  presented  his 
documents  to  Congress,  with  his  credentials  as  delegate  from 
the  Provisional  State  of  Deseret,  through  Senator  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  on  the  27th  of  December  of  that  year;  but  his 
petition  was  denied,  and  he  was,  of  course,  not  admitted  to 
Congress.  Instead,  after  a  delay  of  nine  months,  Congress 
passed  a  bill  entitled,  c<rAn  act  to  establish  a  territorial  gov- 
ernment for  Utah,"  providing  for  the  organization  of  Utah 
Territory,  which  was  signed  by  President  Millard  Fillmore, 
and  went  into  force  on  the  9th  of  September,  1850.  The 
President  appointed  officers  for  the  Territory,  as  foUows: 
Brigham  Young,  Governor;  B.  D.  Harris,  Secretary;  Joseph 
Buffington,  Chief  Justice;  Perry  C.  Brocchus  and  Zerubba- 
bel  Snow,  Associate  Justices;  Seth  M.  Blair,  Attorney;  and 
Joseph  L.  Heywood,  Marshal. 

The  news  of  the  organization  of  the  Territory  and  the 
appointment  of  the  Governor  and  other  officers  did  not 
reach  the  valley  until  January  27,  1851,  being  even  then  un- 
officially conveyed  by  way  of  San  Francisco,  through  New 
York  newspapers  which  were  brought  to  Salt  Lake  by  Mr. 
Henry  E.  Gibson. 

On  the  5th  of  April,  1851,  Governor  Young,  who  had 
taken  the  oath  of  office  on  the  3rd  of  February  dissolved  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Deseret,  and  thus  changed 
the  provisional  to  the  territorial  form  of  government,  merg- 
ing the  State  into  the  Territory  of  Utah. 


128  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Among  the  more  important  of  the  many  acts  of  the  Pro- 
visional Assembly,  afterward  made  legal  by  the  territorial 
legislature,  may  be  mentioned  the  creation  of  Salt  Lake, 
Weber,  Utah,  Sanpete,  Juab  and  Tooele  counties,  and  the 
granting  of  a  charter  to  the  University  of  Deseret,  in  the 
winter  of  1849-50;  the  passing  of  acts  incorporating  Great 
Salt  Lake  City  (January  9th),  Ogden  City,  the  city  of  Man- 
ti,  Provo  City  and  Parowan  City  (February  6th),  and  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  (February  8th), 
in  1851. 

On  the  first  Monday  of  August,  1851,  an  election  was 
held,  at  which  were  chosen  a  Delegate  to  Congress,  Dr.  Bern- 
hisel,  who  was  the  first  to  represent  Utah  in  that  body,  and 
a  legislature. 

With  the  arrival  of  Judge  Brocchus,  in  August,  all  the 
federal  judges  were  in  the  territory,  and  had  been  assigned 
by  the  Governor  to  their  districts.  Judge  Brocchus  (who 
was  appointed  with  Secretary  Harris  and  Judge  Brande- 
bury  instead  of  Mr.  Buffington,  declined),  soon  became  dis- 
satisfied with  his  position,  being  doubtless  disappointed  in 
not  being  elected  by  the  Mormons  to  Congress.  The  result 
of  this  disaffection  was  a  breach,  which  was  a  beginning  of 
the  long  controversy  between  the  federal  judges  and  the 
Mormons. 

Being  invited  to  speak  at  a  public  meeting,  early  in 
September,  Judge  Brocchus  shamefully  abused  the  people 
and  their  institutions.  He  was  severely  rebuked  by  Presi- 
dent Young.  Not  long  after  this  episode,  the  Secretary  and 
the  two  Judges  informed  the  Governor  that  they  would  re- 
turn to  Washington.  They  did  so  on  September  28,  carry- 
ing with  them  the  territorial  seal,  records  and  documents, 
as  well  as  $24,000.00  appropriated  by  Congress  for  the  per 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  129 

diem  of  the  legislature.  These  "runaway  judges  and  secre- 
tary," by  which  sobriquet  they  became  known,  made  their 
report  to  the  proper  national  officials,  and  falsely  asserted 
that  they  were  forced  to  leave  Utah  on  account  of  the  law- 
less acts  and  seditious  tendencies  of  Governor Brigham  Young 
and  the  majority  of  the  citizens.  Their  scheme  to  create 
trouble  for  the  Mormons  did  not  succeed,  however,  as  they 
had  expected,  for  they  were  forced  to  retire,  the  President 
appointing  in  their  stead,  on  the  15th  of  August,  1852,  Laz- 
arus H.  Reed,  chief  justice,  with  Leonidas  Shaver,  associate, 
and  Benjamin  G.  Ferris,  of  anti-Mormon  book  fame,  secre- 
tary. The  vacancies  in  the  meantime  were  temporarily  filled 
by  gubernatorial  appointment,  a  full  explanation  being  ren- 
dered to  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  next  fed- 
eral officials  were  Chief  Justice  John  F.  Kinney,  appointed 
August  24,  1854,  Associate  Justice  George  P.  Stiles,  August 
1, 1854;  Judge  W.  W.  Drummond,  September  12,  1854.  The 
latter  two  became  chiefly  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the 
"Utah  War." 

While  these  political  changes  were  being  made,  other 
more  important  events  were  transpiring  among  the  people  of 
Utah.  Desiring  a  closer  association  with  the  other  citizens 
of  the  Union,  the  Governor  and  legislative  assembly,  as  early 
as  March  3,  1852,  memorialized  Congress  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  national  central  railroad  to  the  Pacific  coast,  also 
for  a  telegraph  line,  setting  forth  among  other  things  as 
their  reasons  for  this  desire  "that  the  immense  emigration 
to  and  from  the  Pacific  requires  the  immediate  attention, 
guardian  care  and  fostering  assistance  of  the  greatest  and 
most  liberal  government  on  the  face  of  the  earth/'  "That 
an  eligible  route  can  be  obtained — -that  the  mineral  resources 
of  California  and  these  mountains  can  never  be  fully  de- 

9 


130  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

veloped  to  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 
without  the  construction  of  such  a  road;  and  upon  its  com- 
pletion the  entire  trade  of  China  and  the  East  Indies  will 
pass  through  the  heart  of  the  Union,  thereby  giving  our  citi- 
zens almost  the  control  of  the  Asiastic  and  Pacific  trade, 
pouring  into  the  lap  of  the  American  states  the  millions  that 
are  now  diverted  through  other  commercial  channels." 
Again,  in  Governor  Young's  message  to  the  legislature,  in 
1853,  he  urges  the  necessity  of  a  national  iron  highway,  and 
calls  attention  to  the  importance  of  properly  presenting  the 
matter  before  Congress.  A  great  mass  meeting  was  accord- 
ingly held  in  January,  1854,  in  which  the  people  took  steps 
to  further  memorialize  Congress  for  the  construction  of  a 
railway  via  Salt  Lake  City  to  the  Pacific.  But  other  petitions 
were  necessary,  and  over  fifteen  years  were  to  elapse  before 
the  iron  horse  should  awake  the  echoes  in  their  mountain 
retreat. 

With  the  arrival  of  fresh  emigrants,  the  growth  and  ex- 
tension of  the  cities  and  villages  continued,  until  there  was 
a  chain  of  thirty  Mormon  settlements  from  Bear  Eiver,  on 
the  north,  to  the  rim  of  the  Great  Basin,  on  the  south,  and  to 
the  east  and  west  of  Salt  Lake  City.  Public  buildings  and 
stores  were  erected,  coal  and  iron  mines  developed,  grist  and 
saw  mills  were  busy  in  all  parts.  Encouraged  by  legislative 
appropriation  and  protection,  home  manufacturing  establish- 
ments sprang  up  in  various  places.  Ten  thousand  dollars  of 
the  territorial  revenue  of  something  over  twenty-six  thous- 
and, were  expended  for  fostering  infant  industries,  for  sur- 
veys, roads  and  bridges,  and  for  educational  purposes.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  among  the  Mormon  colonizers, 
the  school  house  was  the  first  public  building  to  be  erected  in 
every  settlement. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  131 

On  April  6, 1853,  the  corner  stone  of  the  now  completed 
great  temple  at  Salt  Lake  City  was  laid,  ground  having  been 
broken  for  the  foundation  on  the  14th  of  February  previous. 
It  was  dedicated  forty  years  later,  April  6,  1893,  and  has  been 
pronounced  "a  structure  unsurpassed  if  not  unequaled  for 
beauty  and  sublimity  by  any  other  edifice  in  America." 

At  the  October  Conference,  1853,  many  were  called  to 
strengthen  the  settlements  in  Iron,  Tooele,  Sanpete,  Box 
Elder  and  Juab  counties. 

As  a  rule  only  little  trouble  was  experienced  with  the 
Indians,  owing  chiefly  to  the  wise  course  adopted  by  Presi- 
dent Young  in  treating  them.  His  life-long  policy  toward 
the  red  men,  which  has  saved  much  property  and  many  lives 
in  Utah,  is  embodied  in  this  utterance  of  his  which  he  ever 
put  faithfully  into  practice  as  a  private  individual,  as  Gov- 
ernor and  Government  Indian  Agent,  and  as  President  of 
the  Church:  "It  is  cheaper  to  feed  the  Indians  than  to  fight 
them."  But  their  treatment  under  these  conditions,  and 
with  the  careful  diplomacy  of  the  great  Mormon  leader  did 
not  entirely  prevent  conflicts  with  them.  The  first  troubles 
occurred  in  1850-1.  Then  followed  a  period  of  peace  until 
1853,  when  the  Ute  war  broke  out,  instigated  doubtless  by 
Mexican  traders,  who  came  to  Utah  and  supplied  the  Indians 
with  firearms,  ammunition,  horses,  etc.,  taking  in  exchange 
Indian  women  and  children,  who  were  subsequently  sold  into 
slavery.  Governor  Young  proclaimed  against  this  traffic, 
which  displeased  both  traders  and  Indians.  Passing  emi- 
grants also  did  much  injury  by  shooting  Indians  without 
cause.  In  the  spring  of  1854,  the  trouble  was  ended  in  a 
treaty  of  peace.  As  a  result  of  the  conflict,  about  twenty 
whites  and  a  large  number  of  Indians  were  killed,  while  the 


132  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

people  and  the  territory  together  suffered  a  loss  of  about 
$300,000. 

The  chief  item  of  religious  interest  was  the  public  avowal 
of  polygamy,  at  a  conference  of  the  Church  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
August  29,  1852.  Plural  marriage  included  in  the  doctrine 
of  celestial  marriage,  was  practiced  long  before  this  time  by 
the  Saints  in  Nauvoo,  Winter  Quarters,  and  also  in  Utah.  It 
was  first  made  known  to  Joseph  Smith,  the  Prophet,  in  1831, 
and  in  Nauvoo,  in  1841,  was  introduced  by  him  to  a  number 
of  leading  Elders,  and  practiced  by  them  and  the  Prophet.* 
The  revelation  on  celestial  marrit$e  was  recorded  July  12, 
1843.  f  Celestial  marriage  may,  but  does  not  necessarily, 
include  a  plurality  of  wives;  it  consists  of  the  eternity  of  the 
marriage  covenant  between  man  and  wife.  When  a  marriage 
is  sealed  by  the  Holy  Priesthood,  which  has  power  to  bind 
on  earth  and  it  is  bound  in  heaven,  the  man  and  wife  have 
not  alone  claim  upon  each  other  in  time,  but  in  eternity  also 
— they  are  husband  and  wife  after  the  resurrection.  The 
doctrine  revolutionizes  the  idea  of  marriage  as  entertained  by 
mankind  in  general,  which  is  usually  considered  to  be  a  con- 
tract lasting  only  in  this  life;  and  declares  that  the  associa- 
tion of  the  sexes  thus  entered  into  is  eternal,  that  our  rela- 
tions here  as  husbands,  wives,  families,  continue  in  the  celes- 
tial spheres.  Marriage  thus  becomes  one  of  the  chief  means 
of  man's  exaltation  and"  glory  in  the  world  to  come,  whereby 
he  may  have  endless  increase  of  eternal  lives,  and  attain  at 
length  to  the  power  of  the  Godhead.  J  It  was  this  glorious 


*  See  Jensen's  "Historical  Record,"    pp.    219-234. 

t  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section   132. 

$  "It  is  the  first  principle  of  the  gospel  to  know  for  a  certainty  the 
character  of  God,  and  to  know  that  we  may  converse  with  him,  as  one 
man  converses  with  another.  *  *  *  God  himself  was  once  as 
we  are  now,  and  is  an  exalted  man,  and  sits  enthroned  in  yonder 
heavens."— History  of  Joseph  Smith  Millennial  Star,  Vol.  23,  p.  246. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  133 

doctrine,  in  connection  with  baptism,  redemption  and  seal- 
ing for  the  dead,  that  was  the  uppermost  theme  of  the  Pro- 
phet Joseph  during  the  last  two  years  or  more  of  his  life. 

On  this  August  day,  here  amidst  the  liberty  of  the 
mountains,  Brigham  Young  saw  fit  to  publicly  proclaim  this 
consoling  doctrine,  including  also  that  portion  of  it  relating 
to  a  plurality  of  wives — the  latter  a  principle  which  Joseph 
and  the  leading  elders  only,  had  heretofore  privately  enter- 
tained and  practiced,  because  it  came  in  conflict  with  the 
prejudice,  education,  traditions  and  sentiments  of  the  age. 
Then  followed  the  promulgation  of  the  doctrine  by  mission- 
aries to  the  whole  world.  Afterward,  polygamy  became  the 
leading  question  for  contention  between  the  officers  of  the 
government  and  the  Mormons,  until  the  practice  was  finally 
suspended  by  a  manifesto  of  President  Wilford  Woodruff, 
dated  September  24,  1890.  At  the  following  October  confer- 
ence The  Church  accepted  his  declaration  as  authoritative 
and  binding,  and  a  plurality  of  wives  is  now  neither  taught 
nor  practiced.  But  marriages  for  time  and  eternity  are  en- 
tered into  by  all  the  faithful  Saints  in  the  holy  temples  which 
dot  the  landscape  of  their  Zion. 

EVENTS  FROM  1854  TO  1857. 

As  Governor  Young's  first  term  was  drawing  to  a  close, 
it  became  evident  that  the  false  stories  circulated  about  him 
and  his  people,  chiefly  by  the  "runaways'*  and  by  Secretary 
Ferris,  had  so  influenced  the  Nation's  Executive  that  he 
would  not  appoint  the  Mormon  Governor  for  a  second  term. 
The  action  of  Colonel  E.  J.  Steptoe,  however,  changed  his  de- 
termination. The  Colonel  arrived  in  Utah  in  August,  1854, 
with  a  detachment  of  troops  on  his  way  to  California.  To 
him  President  Franklin  Pierce  tendered  the  governorship. 


134  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

This  the  Colonel  respectfully  declined,  and,  with  leading  citi- 
zens, Mormon  and  non-Mormon,  federal  officials  and  army 
officers,  petitioned  for  the  re-appointment  of  the  present  in- 
cumbent. The  memorial  had  the  desired  effect.  The  request 
was  granted,  and  Brigham  Young  received  the  appointment 
as  Governor  and  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs. 

Colonel  Steptoe  remained  with  hi&  troops  in  the  terri- 
tory over  winter,  continuing  on  good  terms  with  the  Mor- 
mons. He  had  orders  to  arrest  and  bring  to  trial  the  perpe- 
trators of  the  Gunnison  massacre,*  which  he  succeeded  in  do- 
ing. Eight  Indians  being  arrested  were  tried  for  murder; 
among  them  was  the  chief  Kanosh,  who,  with  four  others, 
was  acquitted,  while  a  verdict  of  manslaughter  was  returned 
against  the  remaining  three. 

In  the  spring  of  1855,  Morgan  county  was  settled  by 
Jedediah  Morgan  Grant.  Orson  Hyde  pushed  west  and  es- 
tablished a  colony  in  Carson  Valley,  now  in  Nevada.  Dur- 
ing the  Buchanan  War  that  soon  followed,  the  settlements  in 
that  valley  were  broken  up. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1855,  Charles  C.  Rich,  George  Q. 
Cannon,  Joseph  Bull  and  others  left  for  San  Francisco. 
There,  Elder  Cannon  established  the  weekly  Western  Stand- 
ard^ publishing  the  first  issue  on  the  23rd  of  February,  1856, 
about  which  time  his  translation  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  in 
the  Hawaiian  language  also  appeared. 

Judge  George  P.  Stiles  succeeded  Judge  Snow,  at  the 
expiration  of  the  latter^s  term,  in  1854.  After  the  death  of 
Chief  Justice  Eeed,  in  New  York  in  March,  1855,  Judge  John 


*  Lieutenant  John  W.  Gunnison,  afterward  Captain,  had  assist. d 
Captain  Stansbury  in  his  labors.  Encamped  on  the  Sevier,  engaged 
in  surveying  a  railway  route,  he  was  cruelly  killed  by  the  Indians, 
October  25,  1853.  Gunnison,  Sanpete  County,  was  named  in  honor 
of  this  friend  of  Utah  and  her  people.  He  wrote  a  valuable  and 
impartial  work  on  "The  Mormons." 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  135 

F.  Kinney  was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  Judge  Leonidas 
Shaver  died  in  Salt  Lake  City,  June  29,  1855,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Judge  W.  W.  Drummond.  Both  Judges  Eeed  and 
Shaver  were  greatly  respected  by  the  people,  who  sincerely 
mourned  their  death. 

•  The  Legislature  met  for  the  first  time  in  Fillmore,  the 
new  capital  of  the  territory,  on  the  10th  of  December,  1855. 
In  January  of  the  following  year,  the  population  of  the  terri- 
tory is  given  as  76,335.  During  this  session  another  unsuccess- 
ful effort  was  made  for  the  admission  of  Utah  into  the  Union. 
John  Taylor,  then  editor  of  the  Mormon,  in  New  York,  and 
George  A.  Smith,  were  elected  delegates  to  present  the  me- 
morial and  constitution  to  Congress.  Cache  and  Box  Elder 
Counties  were  created,  besides  a  number  of  counties  in  Car- 
son Valley. 

The  crops  of  1854-5  had  failed  owing  to  drought  and 
grasshoppers.  The  winter  of  1855-6  was  unusually  severe. 
Cattle  and  sheep  by  the  thousands  died  from  cold  and  starva- 
tion. As  a  result  of  these  combined  calamities,  the  Saints 
suffered  greatly  and  were  once  more  driven  to  roots  for  sub- 
sistence. Some  there  were  who  had  provided  for  the  famine, 
but  their  little  stores  were  soon  exhausted  by  their  willing- 
ness to  help  the  needy.  Those  who  had,  gave  to  those  who 
had  not.  Much  suffering  was  thus  relieved  or  prevented. 
"Unity  and  equality — those  watchwords  of  the  United  Order 
— were  once  more  emphasized  in  the  dealings  of  the  Mor- 
mon people  with  one  another  and  with  the  needy  of  all  classes 
and  creeds  among  them."* 

To  add  to  the  troubles  of  these  times,  the  Indians  pre- 
cipitated another  war  known  as  the  Tintic  War.  It  caused 


*  Whitney's  Utah,  Vol.  1,  p.  548. 


136  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

the  death  of  twelve  of  the  settlers.    Indian  depredations  on 
the  plains  were  also  numerous,  in  1856. 

But  that  year's  greatest  calamity,  penetrating  the  whole 
Church  with  its  grief  and  gloom,  befell  the  late  handcart 
companies.  "It  had  been  decided  by  the  Mormon  leaders 
that  a  cheaper  and  more  expeditious  method  of  bringing  the 
emigrants  across  the  great  plains  would  be  by  handcarts  in 
lieu  of  ox-teams  and  wagons.  The  carts,  manufactured  on 
the  frontier,  were  to  carry  the  baggage  and  provisions,  and 
the  stronger  men  were  to  pull  them."*  There  were  in  all 
five  companies  of  emigrating  Saints,  mostly  from  England, 
who  had  decided  to  cross  the  plains  in  that  way,  traversing 
deserts,  wading  rivers,  climbing  mountains,  a  distance  of 
thirteen  hundred  miles  to  Salt  Lake  City.  Three  companies 
arrived  in  the  Valley  after  a  three  months'  journey,  com- 
paratively in  good  condition;  but  the  last  two  were  caught  in 
the  snows  and  the  storms  of  an  early  winter.  After  suffer- 
ing starvation  and  untold  hardships,  their  remnants  finally 
arrived  in  the  Valley,  the  last  delayed  company,  composed  of 
six  hundred  persons,  having  lost  more  than  one-fourth  of 
their  numbers  by  death.  All  would  have  shared  the  same  fate 
had  not  relief  parties,  risking  their  own  lives,  gone  to  their 
assistance. 

10.    THE  UTAH  EXPEDITION. 

While  Judges  Reed  and  Shaver  had  been  regarded  with 
much  favor  by  the  Mormons,  and  Judge  Kinney  was  now  so 
regarded,  it  was  evident  from  the  first  that  Judges  Stiles 
and  Drummond  would  not  so  be  considered.  The  reason  is 
plain.  Their  characters  were  so  low  and  vicious  as  to  com- 

*  For  full  accounts  of  the  hand-cart    companies,    written    by    John 
Chislett  and  John  Jaques,  see  Whitney's  Utah,  Vol.  1,  pp.  558-564.  . 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  137 

mand  no  respect.  The  former  was  a  characterless  renegade 
Mormon,  the  latter  a  gambler  and  a  lecher.*  And  these  two 
men,  but  more  especially  Drummond,  did  more  than  any 
others  to  bring  about  the  trouble  which  is  known  as  the 
"Mormon  War,"  or,  properly  speaking,  President  "Buchan- 
an's egregious  blunder/' 

Little  attention  had  been  paid  by  the  general  govern- 
ment to  Utah.  It  had  taken  occasion  to  slight  her  and  her 
just  demands,  in  the  matters  of  admission  to  the  sisterhood 
of  states,  and  in  appropriations  such  as  were  made  to  other 
territories  for  the  expense  of  their  legislatures,  state  houses, 
Indian  outbreaks,  etc.  Then,  to  make  matters  worse,  such 
political  adventurers  as  have  been  named  were  sent  to  be  the 
judges  of  the  people.  These,  finding  no  sympathy  among  an 
honest  community,  laid  plans  to  still  aggravate  the  existing 
suspicions  and  indifference  of  the  nation  toward  the  Mor- 
mons. 

Finding  their  courts  overcrowded  after  the  departure  of 
the  "runaway  judges,"  the  Utah  Legislature  passed  an  act, 
in  1852,  giving  the  probate  courts  "power  to  exercise  original 
jurisdiction,  both  civil  and  criminal,  as  well  in  chancery  as 
in  common  law,  when  not  prohibited  by  legislative  enact- 
ment." Thus  arose  complications.  The  federal  judges  de- 
clared that  these  courts  nullified  the  powers  of  the  higher 
tribunals,  while  the  Mormons  maintained  that  without  the 
powers  of  the  probate  courts,  they  would  be  left  practically 
without  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction.  Judges  Stiles  and 
Drummond,  contrary  to  the  practice  of  their  predecessors, 


*  Speaking  of  Drummond,  Bancroft,  History  of  Utah,  p.  490,  says: 
"Leaving  his  wife  and  family  in  Illinois  without  the  means  of  sup- 
port, he  brought  with  him  a  harlot  whom  he  had  picked  up  in  the 
street?  of  Washington,  and,  introducing  her  as  Mrs.  Drummond, 
seated  her  by  his  side  on  the  judicial  bench." 


138  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

made  a  direct  issue  by  ignoring  the  authority  of  the  lower 
courts  and  their  officials.  The  people  would  not  sustain  them 
in  fhis  movement,  and,  being  powerless  to  proceed,  Judge 
Stiles  was  compelled  to  adjourn  his  court.  ^Returning  to 
Washington,  in  the  spring  of  1857,  he  made  affidavit  to  this 
effect,  declaring,  among  other  things,  that  his  records  had 
been  burnt  and  he  threatened  with  violence.  The  records,  it 
is  true,*had  been  removed  from  his  office,  but  were  in  safe- 
keeping, being  later  produced.  But  his  report  went  abroad 
creating  much  adverse  criticism  of  the  Mormons. 

Judge  Drummond  became  very  unpopular,  not  alone  for 
moral  reasons,  but  also  for  his  judicial  course.  At  length, 
he  concluded  to  resign.  His  letter  of  resignation,  dated 
March  30, 1857,  sent  to  Attorney-General  Jeremiah  S.  Black, 
sets  forth  his  reasons  for  this  action.  He  conjures  up  many 
wicked  lies  and  groundless  accusations.  He  charges  that  the 
records,  papers,  etc.,  of  the  supreme  court  have  been  des- 
troyed by  order  of  The  Church;  that  the  federal  officers  are 
constantly  insulted,  harassed  and  annoyed,  without  redress. 
He  charges  the  Governor  with  improperly  pardoning  crim- 
inals, advising  jurors  beforehand,  so  that  no  charges  but  his 
are  obeyed.  The  judiciary  is  treated  as  a  farce,  the  "officers 
are  insulted,  harassed  and  murdered  for  doing  their  duty." 
Closing,  he  suggests  that  a  new  Governor  be  appointed  and 
"supported  with  a  sufficient  military  aid.3' 

This  report,  and  a  letter  written  by  a  mail  contractor 
named  W.  F.  Magraw,  also  minor  complaints  from  Indian 
agents  and  federal  officials,  led  President  Buchanan,  without 
further  investigation,  to  conclude  that  a  rebellion  existed  in 
Utah.  It  has  also  been  said,  but  not  sufficiently  sustained  by 
direct  evidence,  that  he  was  instigated  by  a  rebellious  desire 
to  scatter  the  Union  forces  in  case  of  a  conflict  with  the 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  139 

South  on  the  slavery  question,  which  was  then  the  upper- 
most topic  in  the  country..  The  Mormons,  then  as  now  and 
ever,  loyal  to  their  country  and  its  institutions,  made  answer 
to  all  the  charges  as  they  were  published,  but  their  explana- 
tions were  deemed  insufficient.  Brigham  Young  was  super- 
seded in  the  governorship  by  Alfred  Gumming,  and  an  army 
of  two  thousand  five  hundred  men,  well  equipped  and  sup- 
plied, was  organized  and  ordered  to  march  to  Salt  Lake  City> 
ostensibly  as  a  posse  comitatus  to  sustain  his  authority,  01. 
if  need  be,  to  put  down  the  alleged  lawlessness  by  force.  The 
commander  of  the  troops  was  instructed  under  date  of  June 
29,  1857,  how  to  proceed. 

The  mails  to  Utah  had  been  stopped,  leaving  the  Mor- 
mons as  ignorant  of  the  coming  of  the  army  as  they  were  of 
having  rebelled  against  their  country.  It  was  not  until  the 
24th  of  July,  while  patriotically  celebrating  their  advent  into 
the  territory  ten  years  before,  that  President  Young  and  his 
people  were  apprised  of  the  startling  news  by  three  Mormon 
messengers  from  the  east.  In  the  evening,  President  Young 
called  the  people  together,  and,  addressing  them,  said,  among 
other  expressions:  "Liars  have  reported  that  this  people 
have  committed  treason,  and  upon  their  misrepresentations 
the  President  has  ordered  out  troops  to  assist  in  officering 
this  territory.  *  *  *  We  have  transgressed  no  law. 
neither  dp  we  intend  to  do  so;  but  as  for  any  nation  coming 
to  destroy  this  people,  God  Almighty  being  my  helper,  it 
shall  not  be."  Then  the  celebration  went  on.  There  was  no 
excitement,  but  war  became  the  uppermost  theme  thereafter. 

On  the  8th  of  September  Captain  Van  Yliet  arrived  in 
Salt  Lake  City,  meeting  with  a  cordial  reception;  his  mission 
was  to  purchase  supplies,  and  to  inform  the  Mormons  that 
the  government  would  not  molest  or  interfere  with  them. 


140  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  object  of  sending  the  troops  was  to  instal  the  new  of- 
ficials. 

"I  believe  you  tell  the  truth,"  replied  Brigham,  in  an 
interview  on  September  9th,  "that  you  believe  this — but  you 
do  not  know  their  intentions  as  well  as  I  do.  *  *  *  We 
have  plenty  here  of  what  you  want,  but  we  will  sell  you  noth- 
ing. Further  than  this,  your  army  shall  not  enter  this  val- 
ley." 

President  Young's  experience  with  military  bodies  in 
Missouri  and  Illinois,  had  led  him  to  lose  confidence  in  their 
asserted  designs,  and  to  be  suspicious  of  their  intents.  Why 
had  not  the  officers  been  sent  without  the  army?  There  had 
been  no  resistance  to  the  civil  authorities  heretofore,  why 
was  it  now  necessary  to  instal  them  by  the  aid  of  troops? 
The  real  design  was  evidently  hidden.  It  was  the  extermina- 
tion of  the  Mormons,  the  spoliation  of  their  homes  and  pos- 
sessions, their  complete  annihilation.  So  thought  Brigham 
Young,  and  he  dealt  accordingly. 

The  Captain  remonstrated,  saying  that  even  if  the 
mountain  passes  could  be  defended  against  the  army  now 
coming,  reinforcements  would  be  sent  the  following  season 
to  overcome  all  opposition.  To  which  President  Young  re- 
plied: "We  are  aware  that  such  will  be  the  case;  but  when 
these  troops  arrive,  they  will  find  Utah  a  desert ;  every  house 
will  be  burned  to  the  ground,  every  tree  cut  down,  and  every 
field  laid  waste." 

The  Captain  was  as  deeply  impressed  as  he  was  aston- 
ished. He  returned  to  Washington  to  report  to  the  Secretary 
of  War. 

Following  the  Captain's  departure,  Governor  Young  de- 
clared the  territory  under  martial  law,  September  17.  The 
Nauvoo  Legion  vras  thoroughly  organized  under  Lieutenant 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  141 

Daniel  H.  Wells,  and  two  thousand  five  hundred  men,  young 
and  old,  were  mustered  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  the  troops 
into  the  Valley.  Early  in  October,  the  government  army 
supply  trains  were  burned  at  Green  Kiver  by  Lot  Smith,  fol- 
lowed by  the  destruction  of  Fort  Bridger.  Finally  the  invad- 
ing troops,  crippled,  starved  and  frozen,  were  forced  to  go 
into  winter  quarter  on  Black's  Fork.  Excepting  a  guard,  the 
Utah  militia  returned  to  their  homes  early  in  December.  So 
matters  rested  until  spring,  when  it  was  fully  expected  the 
conflict  would  begin  anew. 

Meanwhile  Governor  Young  had  asked  Colonel  Thomas 
L.  Kane  to  present  the  true  situation  before  President  Bu- 
chanan. Having  done  so,  the  President  dispatched  the  Colo- 
nel to  Utah  as  private  Government  envoy  with  a  conciliatory 
message.  He  reached  Salt  Lake  City,  February  25, 1858,  and 
learned  that  there  would  be  no  objections  to  the  entrance  of 
the  new  governor  without  the  army,  which  would  not  be  al- 
lowed to  accompany  him  or  to  quarter  in  any  city  or  settle- 
ment of  the  territory.  Departing  over  the  snows  for  Black's 
Fork,  Colonel  Kane  soon  convinced  Governor  Gumming  that 
he  had  no  need  of  the  army.  Then  the  two  departed  for 
Salt  Lake  City,  arriving  there,  April  12.  After  a  cordial 
meeting  with  President  Young,  Governor  Cumming  was 
duly  and  peaceably  installed  in  his  new  position.  His  noble 
peace  mission  now  ended,  Colonel  Kane  returned  to  report 
his  success  in  Washington. 

What  was  now  to  be  done  with  the  army  ? 

In  June,  Governor  Powell  of  Kentucky,  and  Major  Mc- 
Kulloch  of  Texas,  met  President  Young  as  a  Peace  Commis- 
sion in  Salt  Lake  City,  bearing  from  the  national  Executive 
a  full  and  free  pardon  for  all  past  seditions  and  treasons  for 
all  of  the  Mormons  who  would  submit  to  national  authoritv. 


142  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

President  Young  stated  his  position:  "I  thank  Presi- 
dent Buchanan  for  forgiving  me,  but  I  really  cannot  tell 
what  I  have  done.  I  know  one  thing,  and  that  is,  that  the 
people  called  Mormons  are  a  loyal  and  law-abiding  people, 
and  have  ever  been.  It  is  true  Lot  Smith  burned  some  wag- 
ons containing  government  supplies  for  the  army.  This  was 
an  overt  act,  and  if  it  is  for  this  that  we  are  to  bp  pardoned, 
I  accept  the  pardon." 

It  was  then  agreed  that  the  army  might  come  into  the 
basin,  but  should  not  Quarter  within  forty  miles  of  the  city, 
nor  in  any  settlement  of  the  territory.  Entering  Salt  Lake 
City  June  26,  they  founded  Camp  Floyd,  thirty-six  miles 
south,  where  they  remained  until  1860.  The  last  remnant 
departed  in  1861.  Many  of  the  soldiers  participated  in  the 
Civil  War,  in  which  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  the  commander 
of  the  Buchanan  Expedition  against  the  Mormons,  took  part 
as  a  rebel. 

Upon  first  entering  the  Valley,  the  troons  were  deeply 
moved  by  the  desolation  which  they  witnessed  all  about  them. 
With  no  faith  in  the  promises  of  armies,  the  Saints,  thirty 
thousand  strong,  had  fled  south,  to  what  destination  they 
knew  not.  Their  deserted  villages  and  cities  were  inhabited 
only  by  the  guards  who  had  been  left  with  torch  in  hand 
ready  to  fire  their  dearly-earned  homes  and  possessions,  in 
case  the  hostile  army  should  invade  their  land  to  repeat  the 
scenes  of  Far  West  and  Nauvoo.  In  vain  Governor  Gum- 
ming pleaded  with  them  to  remain.  Said  President  Young: 
"We  know  all  about  it,  Governor.  We  have  on  just  such 
occasions  seen  our  disarmed  men  hewn  down  in  cold  blood, 
our  virgin  daughters  violated,  our  wives  ravished  to  death 
before  our  eyes.  We  know  all  about  it,  Governor  Gumming/* 

"The  Move"  attracted  the  attention  to  the  sacrifice  of 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  143 

this  people,,  and  to  the  wrongs  inflicted  upon  them,  redound- 
ing to  their  praise  in  the  press  of  Europe  and  the  Union. 
The  public  saw  in  it  heroism,  devotion,  sincerity.  The  tide 
turned  in  favor  of  the  Mormons.  When  the  object  of  "the 
Move"  had  thus  been  realized,  the  people  returned  to  their 
cities  and  habitations  which  had  been  placed  sincerely  upon 
the  altar  of  sacrifice,  but  this  time  not  required  of  them. 

Thus  ended  the  "war."  It  had  cost  the  country  fifteen 
million  dollars,  exposed  the  government  to  ridicule,  and  ac- 
complished nothing;  but  it  won  for  the  Mormons  esteem,  re- 
spect, a  recognition  by  the  outside  world  of  their  devotion  to 
principle,  their  bravery  in  time  of  peril,  their  loyalty  to  coun- 
try. 

11.    A  PERIOD  OF  RECUPERATION. 

The  time  between  the  departure  of  the  army  and  the  ad- 
vent of  the  great  trans-continental  railway  line  may  aptly 
be  termed  a  recuperation  period  in  the  history  of  the  Saints. 
During  these  years,  they  not  only  advanced  in  spiritual 
things,  possibly  to  a  greater  degree  than  heretofore  since 
their  arrival  in  the  valleys  of  the  mountains,  but  they  pros- 
pered more  abundantly  in  temporal  affairs.  It  was  an  epoch 
of  telegraphs,  railways,  and  trade. 

Owing  in  a  degree  to  the  vicissitudes  of  1854-5-6,  many 
of  the  members  of  the  Church  had  become  weary  in  their  in- 
cessant struggle  with  hardships.  This  condition  led  to  neg- 
lect of  duty,  which  in.  turn  resulted  in  the  loss  of  faith,  ac- 
companied by  moral  transgression.  Every  triumph  that  the 
Saints  had  so  far  achieved  in  their  wonderful  career,  had 
been  won  by  and  through  their  faith.  Keligion  had  been 
their  stimulant,  their  support.  So  it  must  continue.  To 
this  end  the  "reformation"  was  begun,  to  revive  the  lost  faith 


144  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

of  the  indifferent  and  sinful.  Its  labors  began  at  a  confer- 
ence at  Kaysville,  September  15,  1856,  spreading  thence 
throughout  the  entire  Church,  at  home  and  abroad,  continu- 
ing with  much  enthusiasm  into  the  spring  and  summer  of 

1857.  Bishops,  missionaries,  and  leading  elders  everywhere 
took  part.    Eepentance,  a  turning  away  from  pride,  covetous- 
ness,  physical  and  moral  uncleanliness,  and  other  abomina- 
tions, were  required  of  the  people.    Humility  prevailed,  and 
there  was  a  general  renewal  of  covenants,  so  that  the  Saints 
again  found  favor  in  the  sight  of  God.    Thus  this  movement, 
while  perhaps  overdone  in  some  instances,    resulted    as    a 
whole  in  much  good.    Without  the  resulting  purification,  it 
is  doubtful  whether  there  would  have  been  so  general  a  re- 
sponse to  the  sacrifices  of  "The  Move,"  or  such  a  healthy 
growth  in  the  years  following. 

The  Overland  Telegraph  was  completed  October  24, 
1861.  Less  than  three  years  and  three  months  had  passed 
since  the  memorable  day  in  the  world's  history,  August  5, 

1858,  when  the  first  Atlantic  cable  was  completed.    Now  the 
electric  messenger  penetrated  the  continent,  and  bore  its  in- 
stant tales  from  sea  to  sea,  through  the  home  of  the  Saints, 
placing  them  in  immediate  communication  with  the  whole 
world.    It  was  the  signal  of  a  new  era  about  to  dawn  upon 
them,  but  they  were  preparing  themselves  for  the  changes 
that  it  would  bring.    The  facility  with  which  the  Mormons 
adapt  themselves  to  progressive,  altered  conditions,  has  of- 
ten been  a  subject  of  remark.    The  present  case  was  no  ex- 
ception. 

Torn  as  the  nation  was  at  this  time  by  internal  strife, 
it  is  a  significant  commentary  upon  Mormon  loyalty  that  the 
first  message  which  passed  east  over  the  completed  line,  from 
President  Brigham  Young,  read:  "Utah  has  not  seceded, 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  145 

but  is  firm  for  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  our  once  happy 
country/' 

In  18G2,  another  unsuccessful  trial  was  made  by  the 
Saints  to  obtain  statehood  for  Utah.  Hons.  William  H. 
Hooper  and  George  Q.  Cannon  were  the  senators-elect.  They 
labored  diligently  to  secure  Utah's  admission  to  the  sister- 
hood of  states,  their  motto  being:  "We  can  redress  our 
grievances  better  in  the  Union  than  out  of  it,"  significant 
words,  indeed,  in  view  of  the  great  national  controversy  over 
secession.  It  was  on  the  2nd  day  of  July,  of  this  same  year, 
that  President  Abraham  Lincoln  approved  and  signed  "an 
act  to  punish  and  prevent  the  practice  of  polygamy  in  the 
territories  of  the  United  States  and  other  places,  and  disap- 
proving and  annulling  certain  acts  of  the  Legislative  Assem- 
bly of  the  Territory  of  Utah."  The  provisions  of  this  act 
became  a  dead-letter  upon  the  statute-books  for  many  years. 
There  was,  however,  an  effort  made  by  Governor  Harding,  in 
1863,  to  punish  President  Young  under  this  law,  but  for  lack 
of  evidence,  the  jury  failed  to  indict,  and  so  the  matter  rest- 
ed. It  being  President  Lincoln's  policy  to  let  the  Mormons 
alone,  Governor  Harding,  upon  their  petition,  was  dismissed 
for  his  pains.  Then  followed  a  time  of  political  peace,  brok- 
en only  by  the  efforts  of  Col.  P.  E.  Connor  to  establish  a  mili- 
tary in  lieu  of  a  civil  government  in  the  territory.  Col.  Con- 
nor is  credited,  and  very  justly  too,  with  being  "the  father  of 
Utah  mining ;"  he  was  the  founder  of  Camp  or  Fort  Douglas, 
and  his  troops,  California  volunteers  who  had  enlisted  seven 
hundred  strong  to  fight  Southern  rebels,  being  detained  in 
Utah,  did  good  service  in  checking  Indian  depredations  north 
of  Cache  Valley,  for  which  the  colonel  was  made  Brigadier- 
General.  But  his  scheme  to  establish  military  power  in  Utah 
utterly  failed. 
10 


146  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  next  important  event  was  the  establishment  of  the 
Deseret  Telegraph  line.  With  little  ready  means,  the  Mor- 
mons built  five  hundred  miles  of  this  line,  between  1865  and 
1867,  at  a  cost  of  $150  per  mile,  thus  placing  their  principal 
settlements,  now  extending  in  all  directions,  into  instant 
communication  with  each  other  and  with  the  leaders  of  The 
Church,  whose  counsels  and  instructions  thus  could  be  trans- 
mitted rapidly  to  every  portion  of  the  territory.  This  line 
was  kept  in  constant  service  by  The  Church,  until  1900, 
when,  by  sale,  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  great  Western 
Union  system. 

In  1868,  the  approaching  railroad  warned  the  inspired 
leader  of  the  Saints  that  the  isolation  which  had  made  Zion 
a  peculiar  people  would  soon  be  destroyed.  There  would  be 
great  financial  and  social  changes.  To  guard  the  money  in- 
terests of  the  people,  as  well  as  to  insure  their  temporal  su- 
premac}7,  President  Young  announced,  "that  it  was  advisable 
that  the  people  of  Utah  should  become  their  own  mer- 
chants." Then  followed  the  organization  of  Zion's  Co-opera- 
tive Mercantile  Institution,  which  began  business  early  in 
1869.  Branches  were  established  in  nearly  all  the  settle- 
ments, and  while  many  failed  or  have  gone  out  of  business, 
there  can  be  no  question  about  the  benefit  that  resulted  to 
the  community  from  this  movement.  There  are  several 
branches  of  the  institution  today.  The  parent  house  has  an 
enormous  trade,  and  may  be  said  to  constitute  the  temporal 
bulwark  of  the  Mormons.  It  has  helped  materially  to  pre- 
serve them  as  a  community;  it  has  earned  for  them  a  finan- 
cial influence  abroad,  while  it  has  maintained  a  uniformity 
in  prices,  and  has  been  a  ballast  to  trade  at  home ;  it  has  held 
the  money  resources  of  the  people  within  themselves,  and  in 
great  measure,  it  has  insured  the  social  unity  of  the  Saints. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  14.7 

The  Union  Pacific  Kail  way  was  completed  as  far  as  Salt 
Lake  Valley  on  the  8th  of  March,  1869.  At  length  the  peti- 
tions and  desires  of  the  Utah  pioneers  were  answered.  But 
their  influence  was  not  all  that  was  offered  to  aid  in  this 
monstrous  enterprise.  With  their  own  hands,  the  Mormons 
graded  the  highway  from  the  head  of  Echo  Canyon  to  Ogden 
city.  Its  eastern  end  traverses  the  plains  for  many  hundred 
miles  over  the  road  which  they  pioneered.  A I  Ogden  city,  on 
the  eventful  day  named,  the  assembled  multitude  now  greet- 
ed the  iron  horse  with  shouts  of,  "Utah  bids  you  welcome;''* 
"Hail  to  the  great  national  highway.*'  On  the  17th  of  May 
following,  the  Utah  Central  Eailroad,  from  Ogden  to  Salt 
Lake  City,  was  begun,  being  completed  on  the  10th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1870.  It  was  purely  a  Mormon  enterprise.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  building  of  the  Utah  Southern  (May,  1871),  and 
the  Utah  and  Northern  (September.  1871),  now  of  the  Ore- 
gon Short  Line  system. 

In  the  meantime,missionaries  were  constantly  sent  to  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  and  emigrations,  for  which  hundreds  of 
teams  yearly  were  forwarded  to  the  Missouri,  from  various 
lands,  continued  to  swell  the  population.  New  settlements 
were  formed.*  Thrift  and  industry  made  the  barren  places 
fruitful.f  The  thirsty  plains  and  valleys  smiled  with  verd- 
ure, at  the  touch  of  the  magic  streams  directed  by  the  toiling 
husbandman.  Peace  prevailed  in  the  mountain  Zion.  J 
Children  listened  with  wonder  to  the  tale  of  the  pioneer. 


*  Bear  Lake  Valley  and  Wasatch  County  were  settled  In  1863, 
Sevier  and  Piute  Counties  In  1864. 

t  Portions  of  the  Territory  were  severely  afflicted  by  the  grass- 
hoppers, which  pest  appeared  in  1867,  and  continued  until  well  along 
into  the  '70s,  often  totally  destroying  vegetation  for  years  together. 

J  The  exception  to  this  was  the  Black  Hawk  Indian  trouble  in  1866-7, 
in  southern  counties.  The  Utah  militia,  under  Gen.  D.  H.  Wells,  did 
good  service  in  protecting  the  settlements. 


148  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Schools  and  meeting  houses*  sprang  up  in  every  village, 
attended  by  a  happy  youth  and  a  thankful  people,  content  in 
their  homespun.  Virtue  dwelt  by  the  side  of  honesty;  and 
the  fear  of  God,  in  the  hearts  of  the  peoj)le. 

OFFICIAL  CRUSADE.-DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT  YOUNG. 

With  the  introduction  of  President  Young's  mercantile 
policy,  arose  a  schism,  known  as  the  "Godbeite"  or  "New 
Movement,"  which  threatened  a  dangerous  break  in  The 
Church.  A  number  of  disaffected  Mormon  merchants  began 
to  oppose  President  Young,  and  what  they  termed  his  "one 
man  power;"  and  his  temporal  leanings,  exemplified  in  the 
organization  of  Z. C.M.I.,  the  building  of  railroads  and  other 
secular  enterprises.  These  elders,  being  excommunicated 
and  joined  by  anti-Mormons,  became  the  nucleus  of  home  op- 
position from  which  grew,  in  the  early  months  of  1870,  the 
so-called  Liberal  Party  whose  bitter  and  unscrupulous  war- 
fare against  the  Saints  is  almost  without  a  parallel  in  the 
history  of  political  strife.  To  the  agitations  and  misrepre- 
sentations of  this  party,  coupled  with  the  co-operation  of  Mr. 
Schyler  Colfax,  Reverend  J.  P.  Newman,  and  conspirators 
and  allies  at  the  seat  of  Government,  may  be  attributed  the 
missionary  judicial  crusade  that  overwhelmed  The  Church 
and  its  leading  men  with  persecution,  under  the  administra- 
tion of  President  U.  S.  Grant,  in  1870-1  to  1875.  While  Mr. 
Colfax  and  his  eastern  associates  were  doubtless  sincere  in 
their  desire  to  fight  polygamy,  the  overthrow  of  which  was 


*  The  Tabernacle  at  Salt  Lake  City  was  so  far  completed,  in  1867, 
that  the  October  conference  was  held  therein.  At  this  time,  Joseph  P. 
Smith  was  called  and  ordained  to  the  Apostleship. 

The  Deseret  News  was  first  issued  as  a  daily  in  Nov..  1867;  as  a 
weekly,  June  15,  1850;  as  a  semi-weekly,  October  8,  1865.  The  Ogden 
Junction  was  first  issued  January  1st,  1870,  the  Salt  Lake  Daily  Herald, 
June  6,  1870,  and  the  Mormon,  later  the  Salt  Lake  Tribune,  in  Jan- 
uary, 1870. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  149 

the  aim  of  their  warfare,  no  one  doubts  that  their  allies  in 
Utah  had  solely  another  object  in  view — the  political  control 
of  the  Territory — they  were  determined  to  rule  or  ruin. 

President  Grant  was  inaugurated  on  March  4,  1869.  The 
"let  them  alone"  policy  of  President  Lincoln  was  from  now 
on  abandoned  by  the  President  who,  thoroughly  filled  with 
the  misrepresentations  of  the  party  and  their  allies  referred 
to,  determined  to  solve  the  Mormon  problem,  termed  the 
"twin  relic,"  by  special  legislation  and  judicial  machinery,  or, 
these  failing,  by  the  sword  as  slavery  had  been  determined. 
It  is  claimed  by  the  "new  movement"  people  that  they  averted 
a  war -in  other  words,  induced  the  administration  to  abandon, 
to  some  extent,  a  proposed  military  subjugation  of  the  terri- 
tory. It  was  now  decided  to  proceed  against  the  Mormons 
through  appointed  federal  officials.  To  begin  with,  the  prop- 
er men  were  found  in  Governor  J.  Wilson  Shaffer  and  Chief 
Justice  James  B.  McKean,  the  most  determined  foes  that 
the  Mormons  in  Utah  ever  had.  To  aid  them  in  their  bigoted 
mission,  the  Government  sent  soldiers  to  act  as  a  "moral 
force"  in  the  protection  of  Gentiles  and  apostates.  Small 
wonder  that  illegal  processes,  packed  juries,  absurd  rulings, 
characterized  the  judicial  proceedings.  Where  the  law  failed 
to  aid  them  in  carrying  out  their  measures,  they  did  not 
scruple  to  set  it  aside  by  extra-judicial  rulings. 

The  muster  of  the  territorial  militia  was  first  forbidden 
by  Governor  Shaffer,  in  1870,  evidently  that  greater  scope 
might  be  given  the  officers  to  harass  the  Saints  without  dan- 
ger of  resistance.  The  militia  had  often  been  called  into 
action  to  protect  the  settlements  from  Indian  depredations, 
serving  weeks  at  a  time  without  pay  either  from  the  territory 
or  the  general  Government.  But  from  this  time  on,  they 
were  not  even  allowed  to  patriotically  parade  in  a  4th  of  July 


150  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

procession,  or  upon  any  other  public  occasion.  In  October, 
1870,  Governor  Shaffer  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  Governor 
George  L.  Woods  who  followed  in  his  footsteps. 

The  militia  was  practically  disbanded,  followed  by  high- 
handed judicial  acts  of  Judge  McKean,  who  disgraced  his  of- 
fice "in  a  manner  to  which  the  world  can  furnish  no  parallel/' 
His  mission  was  to  overthrow  Mormonism.  "A  mission/'  he 
declared,  "as  high  above  my  mere  duty  as  judge  as  heaven  is 
above  the  earth/'  Raising  the  cry:  Federal  authority  vs 
polygamic  theocracy,  the  crusade  was  carried  on  in  deadly 
earnest,  until  his  illegal  decisions  were  reversed  by  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States.  President  Young,  and 
other  prominent  men  of  The  Church,  suffered  severe  annoy- 
ances through  arrests,  and  through  illegally  instituted  judi- 
cial proceedings,  being  forced  to  incur  great  expense  in  de- 
fending themselves.  At  length,  Judge  McKean  went  to  such 
extremes  that  the  administration,  in  sympathy  with  him  as 
it  was,  could  tolerate  his  actions  no  longer,  and  on  the  16th 
of  March,  1875,  he  was  removed  because  of  his  fanatical  and 
extreme  conduct,  and  because  of  several  acts  of  his  which  the 
President  considered  ill  advised,  tyrannical,  and  in  excess  of 
his  powers  as  judge.  But  the  Liberals  continued  their  machi- 
nations unabated.  Nearly  every  session  of  Congress  was 
overwhelmed  by  bills  of  their  framing  and  concoction,  cal- 
culated to  proscribe  or  persecute  the  Saints.  The  "Poland 
Bill"  was  passed  June  23,  1874.  Their  agitations  finally  re- 
sulted in  the  passage  of  the  "Edmunds'  Bill,"  in  1882,  supple- 
mented later  by  the  "Edmunds-Tucker  Act." 

In  the  midst  of  these  persecutions  and  annoyances,  the 
interests  of  the  Church  never  lagged  for  a  moment.  Colon- 
ization also  continued.  An  effort  was  made,  in  1873,  to  es- 
tablish settlements  in  Arizona.  A  large  number  of  settlers 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  151 

from  Utah  met  in  Salt  Lake  City,  March  8,  and  were  in- 
structed in  their  colonizing  labors  by  President  Young.  Meet- 
ing at  first  with  failure,  their  efforts  resulted  in  the  experi- 
ence which  finally  led  to  success,  and  at  present  there  are 
many  thriving  settlements  of  the  Saints  in  Arizona. 

On  the  14th  of  October,  the  year  previous,  President 
George  A.  Smith  left  on  a  trip  to  Palestine,  where,  on  March 
2,  following,  he  and  his  associates  held  divine  service  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  on  which  occasion  they  dedicated  the  Land 
of  Palestine  for  the  gathering  of  the  Jews,  and  for  the  re- 
building of  Jerusalem.*  Returning,  President  Smith  reached 
Salt  Lake  City,  June  18,  1873,  where  he  died,  September  1, 
1875. 

In  1874-5,  there  was  a  general  religious  movement 
among  the  Indians,  hundreds  embracing  the  gospel  in  Tooele 
County,  St.  George,  and  other  places.  In  January  of  the 
latter  year,  the  first  Lamanites  were  married  according  to  the 
order  of  the  Holy  Priesthood. 

In  the  summer  of  1875,  the  Improvement  Associations 
of  the  young  Latter-day  Saints  were  first  organized.  Four 
years  later,  their  organ,  the  Contributor,  first  appeared  (Oc- 
tober, 1879). f  The  membership  of  these  associations  now 
numbers  tens  of  thousands  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the 


*  "When  you  get  to  the  land  of  Palestine,  we  want  you  to  dedicate 
and  consecrate  that  land  to  the  Lord,  that  it  may  be  blessed  with  fruit- 
fullness,  preparatory  to  the  return  of  the  Jews,  in  fulfillment  of 
prophecy  and  the  accomplishment  of  the  purposes  of  our  Heavenly 
Father."— Excerpt  from  a  letter  by  Presidents  Brigham  Young  and 
Daniel  H.  Wells  to  President  Smith. 

t  The  Contributor,  founded  by  Junius  P.  Wells,  continued  through 
seventeen  volumes,  but  was  discontinued  shortly  after  the  death  of 
Apostle  A.  H.  Cannon,  which  occurred  July  19,  1896  he  being  then  the 
publisher  and  owner.  It  was  succeeded  by  the  Improvement  Era,  first 
issued  November  1,  1897,  the  present  organ  of  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.  which 
has  now  a  membership  of  nearly  thirty  thousand.  The  Young  Wo- 
man's Journal  was  founded  in  1889,  and  is  the  organ  of  the  Y.  L. 
M.  I.  A.  Both  of  these  magazines  are  owned  by  the  organizations. 


152  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Mormons.  The  Sunday  Schools,  first  organized  in  the  Four- 
teenth Ward,  Salt  Lake  City,  by  Elder  Richard  Ballantyne, 
in  1849,  had  nourished  and  increased  in  membership  to  near- 
ly thirty  thousand.*1  Secular  education  was  not  neglected. 
Every  settlement  boasted  its  schoolhouse  and  public  school 
which  compared  favorably  with  like  institutions  in  the  states 
or  territories  of  equal  age,  in  other  parts  of  the  Union.  Presi- 
dent Young  established  the  B.  Y.  Academy  at  Provo,  October 
16, 1875,  and  the  B.  Y.  College  in  Logan,  July  24, 1877.  The 
Deseret  University,  opened  for  the  first  time  November  11, 
1850,  was  prospering.  The  leaders  of  The  Church  have  ever 
been  firm  friends  of  true  education,  and  their  efforts  in  this 
direction  have  ever  been  nobly  seconded  by  the  Saints  as  a 
community;  as  a  result,  Utah  stands  today  first  in  educa- 
tional progress  among  her  sister  commonwealths  in  the 
west .  f 

Temple  building  went  on.  The  St.  George  temple  was 
dedicated  at  the  April  conference  held  in  that  city,  April 
6-8,  1877,  ordinances  for  the  dead  being  ministered  therein 
on  the  9th.  On  the  25th  of  this  same  month,  the  temple 
site  in  Manti  was  dedicated,  followed,  May  18th,  by  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  ground  for  the  Logan  temple. 

The  organization  of  the  stakes  of  Zion  was  completed 
in  the  summer  of  1877,  the  quorums  of  the  Priesthood  were 
set  in  order,  and  the  ecclesiastical  government  was  perfected 

*  The  Juvenile  Instructor,  established  by  President  George  Q.  Can- 
con,  January  1,  1866,  is  the  organ  of  the  Sabbath  schools  of  the  Saints 
which  have  a  membership  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand. 
It  is  now  owned  by  the  Sunday  schools. 

t  The  School  Journal  reviewing  the  school  exhibit  of  the  various 
states  and  territories  at  the  World's  Exposition  (1893)  says:  "In  the 
originality  and  general  merit  of  its  exhibit,  Utah  stands  easily  first 
in  the  Western  group.  *  *  Here  behind  the  western  mount- 
ains, a  system  of  education  is  being  matured,  that,  while  it  challenges 
the  best  elsewhere,  owes  its  upbuilding  very  greatly  to  the  peculiar 
stamina  of  its  own  communities." 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  153 

according  to  the  pattern  revealed  from  heaven.     In  this 
pleasant  labor,  the  Founder  of  Utah  spent  his  last  days. 

On  the  29th  day  of  August,  1877,  President  Brigham 
Young  died,  surrounded  by  his  family  and  kind  friends.  He 
passed  peacefully  to  rest,  sincerely  mourned  by  a  whole  peo- 
ple whose  chief  and  adviser  he  had  been  for  thirty-three 
years.  He  was  one  of  the  great  men  of  the  century.  His 
achievements  as  leader  of  the  Nauvoo  Exodus,  and  as  Colo- 
nizer of  the  American  desert,  will  be  regarded  justly  as 
among  the  grandest  accomplishments  of  modern  times.* 

•  *  For  an  account  of  the  character  and  leading  events  in  the  career 
of  Brigham  Young,  see  "Anderson's  Life  of  Brigham  Young,"  a  com- 
panion volume  to  this  "Brief  History  of  the  Church." 


FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT  YOUNG  TO  THE 

PRESENT  TIME. 

1877—1901. 


1.  JOHN  TAYLOR  CHOSEN  LEADER. 

Enemies  of  the  Saints  had  often  prophesied  that  upon 
the  death  of  Brigham  Young,  Mormonism  would  fall  to 
pieces.  It  was  soon  clearly  demonstrated,  however,  that  The 
Church  is  not  founded  upon  the  ability  or  strength  of  any 
man,  but  rather  upon  revelation,  with  Christ  as  its  corner 
Btone. 

The  order  of  succession  had  been  decided  in  Nauvoo. 
Apostle  John  Taylor,  who  was  president  of  the  Twelve,  with 
his  quorum,  now  became  the  presiding  authority  of  The 
Church.  As  such,  they  were  unanimously  upheld  at  the  48th 
semi-annual  conference,  in  October,  1877.  On  this  occasion, 
the  authorities  of  The  Church  were  sustained  in  their  order; 
first,  by  the  Priesthood  of  the  Church  who  voted  by  quorums, 
from  the  highest  in  authority  to  the  lowest,  rising  in  turns 
to  their  feet  with  uplifted  hands;  then,  finally,  by  the  entire 
congregation.  There  was  a  spirit  of  union  which  so  far 
from  boding  dissolution,  rather  indicated  renewed,  strength, 
unfaltering  devotion  to  their  cause  and  doctrine. 

At  the  October  conference,  1880,  three  years  afterward, 
the  First  Presidency  was  organized  for  the  third  time  in  the 
history  of  the  Church.  John  Taylor  was  chosen  President, 
with  George  Q.  Cannon  and  Joseph  F.  Smith  as  his  counsel- 
ors. President  Taylor  was  then  72  years  of  age.  He  was  a 
native  of  Milnthorp,  England,  born  November  1,  1808.  He 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  155 

joined  the  Church  in  Canada,  in  1836,  and  was  called  to  the 
Apostleship  "by  revelation,  in  1838.  He  had  filled  numerous 
missions  to  England,  France  (into  which  land  he  introduced 
the  gospel),  Germany,  and  the  United  States.  He  had  exten- 
sively engaged  in  literary  labors,  having  edited  Church  pa- 
pers in  every  country  named,  save  England,  besides  superin- 
tending the  translation  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  into  French 
and  German,  supplemented  at  that  time  and  later  by  the 
publication  of  important  doctrinal  works.  He  was  a  dear 
friend  of  the  Prophet  Joseph,  they  haying  mingled  blood  at 
the  martyrdom.  In  ail  the  travels  of  the  Saints,  and  in  their 
mountain  home,  he  had  always  been  a  leader  in  their  midst. 
The  people  had  full  confidence  in  him;  he  was  their  "Cham- 
pion of  Liberty." 

Fifty  years  had  passed  since  six  members  met  in 
the  State  of  New  York  and  organized  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  Like  the  ancient,  modern 
Israel  would  have  a  year  of  jubilee.  That  the  people  might 
feel  its  influence,  it  was  agreed  at  the  regular  April  confer- 
ence, 1880,  on  suggestion  of  President  Taylor,  to  release  one 
half  of  the  people's  indebtedness  to  the  Perpetual  Emigra- 
tion Fund,  the  principal  of  which  amounted  to  $704,000,  and 
now,  with  interest  added,  to  $1,604,000.  Out  of  this  amount, 
it  was  voted  to  forgive  the  poor  debtors  $800,000,  or  about 
one-half  of  the  whole  amount,  the  other  half  being  left  for 
such  debtors  to  pay  as  were  able  but  had  not  done  so.  Then 
there  was  due  The  Church  on  tithing  account,  $151,798, 
$75,899  of  which  were  canceled  on  the  indebtedness  of  the  de- 
serving poor.  It  was  als"o  agreed  to  distribute  to  the  worthy 
poor,  one  thousand  good  cows,  The  Church  to  furnish  300, 
and  the  stakes,  700;  also  5000  sheep,  2000  of  which  were  do- 
nated by  The  Church  and  the  remainder  by  the  stakes. 


156  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  year  1879  had  been  very  dr}r,  causing  a  shortage  in 
crops.  There  was  little  wheat  in  the  territory,  and  so  the 
sisters  of  the  Eelief  Societies  voted  to  loan  out  to  the  needy 
farmers  34,761  bushels  of  seed  wheat,  to  be  returned  at  their 
convenience  without  interest. 

It  was  to  be  made  a  year  of  rejoicing.  Individuals  were 
counseled  to  relieve  their  distressed  debtors;  Z.  C.  M.  I.  and 
the  banks  were  asked  to  do  something  in  cancelling  the  debts 
of  the  honest  poor.  The  utmost  good  feeding  prevailed,  and 
the  Saints  generally  carried  out  the  counsel  of  their  leader: 
"While  God  is  blessing  us,  let  us  bless  one  another." 

Pioneer  day  was  celebrated  this  year  with  great  rejoic- 
ings and  demonstrations,  in  Salt  Lake  City,  people  coming 
from  all  parts  of  the  territory  on  the  occasion.  The  trades, 
industries,  schools,  societies  and  associations,* commerce,  art 
and  sciences,  were  duly  represented  in  the  great  parade.  Af- 
ter the  grand  procession,  appropriate  reminiscent  ceremonies 
were  held  in  the  large  Tabernacle.  Among  the  noteworthy 
parts  of  the  program  was  the  appearance  of  twenty-five  repre- 
sentatives from  as  many  nations  where  the  gospel  had  been 
preached. 

In  the  concluding  speech  on  this  occasion,  President 
Taylor  made  this  remarkable  prophetic  utterance:  "There 
are  events  in  the  future,  and  not  very  far  ahead,  that  will  re- 
quire all  our  faith,  all  our  energy,  all  our  confidence,  all  our 
trust  in  God  to  enable  us  to  withstand  the  influences  that 
will  be  brought  against  us.  *  *  *  There  never  was  a 
time  when  we  needed  to  be  more  humble  and  more  prayerful ; 


*  The  Sabbath  schools  at  this  time  numbered  33,000;  the  Improve- 
ment Associations  of  the  young  men  were  ten  thousand  strong1.  Re- 
membering that  the  former  now,  1901,  number  125,000,  and  the  latter 
30,000,  we  have  another  witness  of  the  growth  and  strength  of  this 
"marvelous  work  and  a  wonder." 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  157 

there  never  was  a  time  when  we  needed  more  fidelity/ self -de- 
nial and  adherence  to  the  principles  of  truth,  than  we  do  this 
day." 

So  indeed  it  proved  to  he.  The  next  few  years  were  to 
he  among  the  most  trying  in  the  experience  of  The  Church. 

5.    THE  EDMUNDS-TUCKER  AGITATION —DEATH  OF 
PRESIDENT  TAYLOR  IN  EXILE. 

The  enjoyment  of  peace  was  short.  Days  of  sore  trial 
were  at  hand.  In  the  summer  of  1881,  a  crusade  was  inaug- 
urated against  the  Saints  to  suppress  their  institution  of 
plural  marriage.  It  was  hegun  hy  sectarian  opponents  and 
politicians.  Beginning  in  Utah,  the  agitation  soon  spread 
throughout  the  whole  land.  Alarming  falsehoods  of  Mor- 
mon disloyalty,  vice,  and  abominations,  soon  stirred  the  peo- 
ple of  the  nation,  and  their  national  representatives,  to  a 
fever  heat  against  the  Saints.  The  politicians  were  actuated 
by  a  hunger  for  spoils  and  the  emoluments  of  office,  while 
the  ministers  were  evidently  led  hy  disappointment  or  in- 
nate hate.  Neither  class  cared  so  much  for  polygamy  as 
for  these  other  considerations.  Congress  was  pressed  to  en- 
act the  pending  proscriptive  measures.  Memorials,  pro- 
tests, declarations,  and  petitions  of  the  Mormons'  denying 
the  industriously  circulated  falsehoods,  were  of  no  avail. 

The  Edmunds  law,  supplemental  to  the  law  of  1862, 
whicKha^L  practically  remained  a  dead  letter,  was  signed 
by  K&SteRt  Arthur  jm  the  22nd  of  March,  1882,  and  be- 
came law.  Polygamy  was  made  punishable  by  disfranchise- 
ment,  also  a  fine  of  not  more  than  five  hundred  dollars  and 
imprisonment  for  not  more  than  three  years.  Cohabitation 
with  more  than  one  woman  in  the  marriage  relation  was 
punishable  by  a  fine  of  not  to  exceed  three  hundred  dollars 


158 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


and  imprisonment  not  to  exceed  six  months.  Polygamists, 
and  believers  in  the  doctrine  of  plural  marriage,  were  ren- 
dered incompetent  to  act  as  jurors.  No  polygamist  could 
hold  office,  or  vote.  In  1887,  a  supplemental  act  was  passed, 
known  as  the  Edmunds-Tucker  law.  This  gave  additional 
powers  to  the  officers,  required  certificates  of  all  marriages 
to  be  filed  in  the  offices  of  the  probate  courts  (whose  judges 
were  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States),  dis- 
incorporated The  Church,  and  ordered  the  Supreme  Court 
to  wind  up  its  affairs,  and  to  take  possession  of  its  escheated 
property. 

Many  thousand  persons  were  disfranchised.  A  test 
oath  was  subscribed  to  by  those  Mormons  who  decided  to 
retain  their  rights  of  franchise,  the  election  machinery 
aving  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  commission  of  five,  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Their  politi- 
cal rights  thus  interdicted,  the  Mormons  were  set  upon  by 
the  judiciary.  Mr.  Budger  Clawson*  was  the  first  to  answer 
the  charge  in  the  courts.  He  was  found  guilty  and  sentenced, 
November  3,  1884,  to  four  years  imprisonment,  and  to  pay 
a  fine  of  $800.  Then  followed  an  unjustifiably  cruel  legal 
persecution.  Upwards  of  a  thousand  men  were  sent  to  the 
penitentiary  because  they  would  not  promise  to  obey  the 
law  and  thus  discard  their  families.  Hundreds  were  driven 
into  retirement  or  exile;  families  were  broken  up.  There 
was  untold  sorrow  and  heart-suffering  in  their  midst.  Juries, 
obtained  by  open  venire,  were  unanimous  in  obeying  the 
bidding  of  over-zealous  prosecuting  attorneys  who  were  de- 
termined on  conviction.  As  a  rule,  to  be  suspected  was 
equivalent  to  arrest,  arrest  to  indictment,  indictment  to  con- 


*  Afterwards  president  of  the  Box  Elder  Stake  of  Zion,   and  now 
one  of  the  Twelve  Apostles. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  159 

viction,  conviction  to  the  full  penalty  of  the  law.    Unprin- 
cipled, some  of  them  very  immoral,  adventurers  dogged  the 
steps  or  raided  the  homes  of  respectable  veterans,  founders 
of  the  commonwealth.     Government  aided  in  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  law  by  increased  special  appropriations.     Paid 
spotters  and  spies  prowled  among  the  people.     Children 
were  questioned  about  their  parents'  affairs;  wives,  daugh- 
ters and  maidens  were  often  compelled  to  submit  to  the 
shamefully  indecent  questions  with  which  professional  grand 
juries  pestered  them.     The  Saints  were  passing  through  a 
night  of   dreary  darkness.       Bereft    of    the    counsels    and 
presence   of   their   leaders,   torn  with    anguish,   they   were 
taught   the   lesson   of    self-reliance,   dependence   upon   the 
Lord,  faith     in     God.       As     a    community     they     never 
faltered,  never  permitted  themselves  to  be  led  into  acts  of 
violence  against  their  persecutors,  though  the  provocations 
were  numerous  and  ample.    Their  enemies,  too,  desired  that 
they  might  commit  some  overt  act  that  a  pretext  might  be 
found  for  their  utter  destruction. 

Under  these  circumstances,  President  John  Taylor,  who 
had  retired  from  public  view  February  1,  1885,  died  in  exile, 
July  25,  1887.  Thus  mourned  by  Israel  in  bondage,  he 
passed  away  a  double  martyr  to  the  cause  he  loved,  for  with 
him  it  was  "The  Kingdom  of  God  or  nothing."  Said  his 
counselors,  in  the  official  announcement  of  his  death :  "Presi- 
dent John  Taylor  has  been  killed  by  the  cruelty  of  officials 
who  have,  in  this  territory,  misrepresented  the  Government 
of  the  United  States." 

3.    CHANGED  CONDITIONS- WILFORD  WOODRUFF  PRESIDENT 

Upon  the  Twelve  Apostles,  with  Wilford  Woodruff  as 
chief,  now  devolved  the  responsibility  of  the  presidency. 


160  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Apostles  Cannon  and  Smith  took  their  former  places  in  the 
quorum  of  the  Twelve. 

In  this  capacity,  the  apostles  continued  to  act  until  the 
annual  conference  in  1889,  when  the  First  Presidency,  for 
the  fourth  time,  was  organized,  on  the  7th  day  of  April,  Wil- 
ford  Woodruff  being  chosen  President.  He  selected  George 
Q.  Cannon  and  Joseph  F.  Smith  as  his  counselors. 

The  crusade  continued  unabated,  probably  with  less 
hardship,  since  the  people  were  in  a  measure  adjusting  them- 
selves to  their  trying  conditions.  The  political  history  of 
this  period  was  as  full  of  acts  breathing  bitterness  against 
the  Mormons  as  was  the  judicial.  The  executive  was  in  full 
harmony  with  the  judiciary,  and  their  united  efforts  to  crush 
the  people  will  some  day  appear  as  little  to  their  credit  as  the 
history  of  these  times,  once  told  in  full,  will  redound  to  the 
honor  of  the  afflicted  Saints. 

In  the  courts,  the  Mormons  contested  every  step  taken 
by  the  Government  to  deprive  them  of  what  they  consid- 
ered their  religious  rights.  They  deemed  plural  marriage 
part  of  their  creed  and  faith,  hence,  strongly  maintained  that 
Congress  could  make  no  law  prohibiting  the  free  exercise 
thereof.  But  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  nation,  before  which 
tribunal  the  laws  were  finally  tested,  while  condemning  some 
of  the  cruel  and  unjust  methods  of  enforcing  the  law,  de- 
cided that  the  enactments  to  suppress  plural  marriage  were 
constitutional,  and  that  the  first  amendment  to  the  Consti- 
tution, providing  for  the  free  exercise  of  religion,  can  not  be 
used  to  defend  this  doctrine. 

Meanwhile,  the  Government  continued  unyielding  in  its 
determination  to  suppress  the  practice,  having  in  contempla- 
tion and  threatening  the  adoption  of  still  harsher  measures 
than  used  heretofore. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  161 

It  was  while  the  Saints  were  in  the  midst  of  these  afflic- 
tions that  President  Woodruff  sought  the  Lord  in  their  be- 
half, and  in  answer  to  his  petitions  of  anguish,  received  the 
word  of  the  Lord  authorizing  him  to  advise  the  Saints  to 
discontinue  the  practice  of  plural  marriage. 

A  manifesto  to  this  effect  was  issued  on  the  24th  of 
September,  1890,  and  at  the  following  semi-annual  confer- 
encej"  October  "§7  the  assembled  Saints  accepted  the  declar- 
ation of  their  leader  concerning  plural  marriage  as  author- 
itative and  binding.  Since  then,  the  doctrine  has  neither  been 
taught  nor  practiced.  . 

The  people  had  done  their  duty.  God  revealed  the  doc- 
trine to  them;  He  it  was  who  authorized  its  suspension.  In 
the  face  of  appalling  opposition,  they  had  firmly  and  openly 
defended  it  for  thirty  years.  They  were  justified  by  their 
sacrifice  and  suffering.  God  accepted  of  their  offerings  as  He 
had  done  once  before,  when  they  were  hindered  in  the  per- 
formance of  His  will,  in  Jackson  County.*  The  design  of  God 
so  far  had  been  accomplished.  In  defending  themselves, 
they  had  been  given  the  privilege  to  explain  the  gospel,  to 
bear  their  testimonies  to  the  mission  of  so-called  Mormon- 
ism,  in  the  Nation's  high  places,  under  other  conditions  ren- 
dered inaccessible. 

Looked  upon  at  first  with  some  suspicion,  the  Gov- 
ernment and  people  of  the  Nation  at  length  believed  the 
Mormons  sincere,  as  they  are,  in  their  avowal  to  discontinue 
plural  marriages.  This,  with  the  change  in  political  affairs 
wrought  by  disruption  of  their  People's  (Mormon)  politi- 
cal party,  and  the  adoption  by  them  of  National  politics,  by 

*  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Section   124,   verses  49  to  54. 

Roberts'    Ecclesiastical   History,  p.  457,  notes,  6,  7,  8. 
11 


162  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

which  the  Saints,  heretofore  united  in  all  things,  have  be- 
come politically  divided,  brought  about  an  era  of  "good 
feelings  and  changed  conditions." 

•^  4.    THE  TEMPLES  OF  THE  SAINTS. 

Four  magnificent  temples,  in  which  the  Saints  are  do- 
ing a  noble  work  for  the  living  and  the  dead,  have  been  reared 
in  Utah  to  the  name  of  God — one  in  St.  George,  dedicated 
January  1,  1877;  one  in  Logan,  dedicated  May  17,  1884;  one 
in  Manti,  dedicated  May  21,  1888;  one  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
dedicated  April  6,  1893.  The  completion  and  dedication  of 
the  temple  in  Salt  Lake  City  were  among  the  most  important 
Church  events  in  the  administration  of  President  Woodruff. 

At  the  annual  conference,  April  6,  1892,  the  capstone 
was  laid,  the  ceremonies  taking  place  in  the  presence  of 
forty  thousand  people — the  largest  assemblage  ever  congre- 
gated together  in  the  history  of  The  Church.  Nearly  all  the 
leading  authorities  were  present  to  swell  the  "Hosanna" 
shouts  of  the  Saints  who  had  come  to  witness  the  ceremonies 
for  which  they  had  longed  and  waited  these  many  years. 
Services  at  10  a.  m.  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  were  first  held 
in  the  Tabernacle.  The  great  audience  of  twelve  thousand, 
with  the  many  thousands  who  could  not  gain  admission,  ad- 
journed to  the  south  side  of  the  Temple  at  11  a.  m.  First  in 
the  march  came  the  choir,  then  the  First  Presidency,  the 
apostles,  followed  by  the  other  quorums  of  the  Priesthood, 
in  their  order,  to  the  least.  The  ceremonies,  though  simple, 
have  never  been  excelled  for  enthusiasm  and  impressiveness 
in  the  history  of  the  people.  After  music  and  song,  prayer 
having  been  offered  by  President  Joseph  F.  Smith,  all  things 
being  in  readiness,  President  Wilford  Woodruff  stepped  to 
the  front  of  the  platform,  saying:  "Attention,  all  ye  house 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OP  THE  CHURCH.  163 

of  Israel,  and  all  ye  nations  of  the  earth.  We  will. now  lay 
the  topstone  of  the  temple  of  our  God,  the  foundation  of 
which  was  laid  and  dedicated  hy  the  Prophet,  Seer,  and  Eev- 
elator,  Brigham  Young."  He  then  pressed  a  button,  and, 
by  means  of  electricity,  the  last  stone  of  the  holy  structure 
was  laid.  Then  followed  a  grand  effect:  forty  thousand 
voices,  led  by  Apostle  Lorenzo  Snow,  shouted  in  concert, 
"Hosanna,  hosanna,  hosanna  to  God  and  the  Lamb.  Amen, 
amen,  and  amen/'  This  was  repeated  three  times,  each 
shout  being  accompanied  by  a  waving  of  handkerchiefs. 
A  resolution  was  then  adopted,  amid  cheers  from  the  vast 
assembly,  to  complete  the  building  so  that  the  dedication 
might  take  place  on  April  6,  1893.  After  a  closing  anthem, 
the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  President  George  Q. 
Cannon. 

With  energy  and  determination,  work  was  now  pushed 
with  a  view  to  complete  the  interior  of  the  grand  structure 
by  the  appointed  time,  an  undertaking  which  seemed  al- 
most impossible  in  so  short  a  period.  However,  the  people 
donated  liberally  of  their  means,  the  best  workmen  were  em- 
ployed, and  with  the  blessings  of  God  upon  their  labors,  the 
task  was  accomplished. 

On  Tuesday,  April  4,  1893,  the  annual  conference  began 
in  the  tabernacle,  continuing  for  two  days.  On  the  morning 
of  the  6th,  2,500  people  who  had  been  provided  with  tick- 
ets of  admission  met  in  the  large  assembly  room  on  the  up- 
per floor  of  the  temple,  having  first  viewed  the  rich  and 
magnificent  interior  furnishings.  All  the  general  authori- 
ties of  The  Church  were  present — the  first  time  for  many 
years  that  the  First  Presidency,  Twelve  Apostles,  Patriarch, 
Presiding  Council  of  Seventies,  and  Presiding  Bishopric,  all 


164  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

had  been  able  to  meet  together  in  an  assemblage  of  the 
Saints.  A  select  choir  of  three  hundred  voices,  led  by 
Evan  Stephens,  sang  an  anthem,  after  which  President 
Woodruff  offered  the  dedicatory  prayer.  This  was  followed 
by  appropriate,  instructive  and  consoling  remarks  from 
Presidents  Cannon,  Woodruff,  and  Smith.  The  Lord  will 
comfort  Zion;  the  day  when  His  rich  favor  will  be  bestow- 
ed upon  her  is  at  hand;  union  characterizes  the  Priesthood — 
was  the  burden  of  their  speech — prophecies  gloriously  ful- 
filled in  the  present  decade.  Forgiveness  and  charity  were 
impressed  upon  the  Saints,  who  were  assured  of  a  brighter 
day  in  store  for  them  than  they  had  ever  yet  experienced. 
The  Spirit  bore  testimony  to  every  soul  present  that  God 
had  accepted  the  house  now  dedicated  to  Him.  Many  were 
moved  to  tears  of  joy.  The  toils  and  sacrifices  of  forty 
years  received  their  crowning  triumph  in  the  revelation  from 
God  to  each  member  of  The  Church  who  attended,  that  He 
had  accepted  of  the  temple  as  a  habitation  holy  to  His 
name. 

In  the  afternoon,  another  congregation  of  the  Saints 
convened,  then  followed  meetings  until  thirty-one  had  been 
held,  the  average  attendance  of  each  being  2,260,  making  a 
total  of  70,000  people  who  witnessed  the  dedication  cere- 
monies. There  were,  besides,  fifteen  thousand  Sunday  school 
children,  for  whom  special  services  were  held,  making  a 
grand  total  of  85,000.  Members  of  the  Church  attended 
from  every  stake  of  Zion,  as  follows:  Alberta,  Canada; 
Snowflake,  St.  Johns,  St.  Joseph,  and  Maricopa,  Arizona; 
Bannock,  Cassia,  Malad,  Bear  Lake  and  Oneida,  Idaho;  San 
Louis,  Colorado,  Star  Valley,  Wyoming;  Beaver,  San 
Juan,  St.  George,  Panguitch,  Emery,  Parowan,  Uintah,  Mil- 
lard,  Morgan,  Summit,  Sevier,  Sanpete,  Cache,  Wasatch, 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  165 

Weber,  Tooele,  Juab,  Utah,  Davis,  Kanab,  Salt  Lake,  losepa, 
and  Box  Elder,  Utah;  and  Old  Mexico.* 

The  closing  session  of  the  services  were  held  on  the  af- 
ternoon of  Monday,  April  24,  1893,  and  the  temple  was 
opened  for  ordinances  early  in  May  following. 

•     5.    UTAH  ADMITTED  INTO  THE  UNION  OF  STATES. 

The  crowning  political  event  of  the  administration  of 
President  Woodruff  was  the  admission  of  Utah  to  the  sister- 
hood of  states.  The  enabling  act  was  passed  by  Congress 
July  10,  and  approved  by  President  Grover  Cleveland  on 
July  16,  1894,  having  been  first  introduced  by  Delegate 
Joseph  L.  Eawlins,  and  passed  by  the  House  of  Eepresenta- 
tives  on  December  13  of  the  previous  year.  The  long-prayed- 
for  document  was  entitled,  "an  act  to  enable  the  people  of 
Utah  to  form  a  constitution  and  state  government,  and  to  be 
admitted  into  the  Union  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  origin- 
all  states."t  It  provided  in  detail  for  the  method  of  procedure 
to  attain  the  desirable  end  for  which  the  people,  for  lo  these 
many  years,  had  labored  diligently,  but  in  vain.  But,  as  if 
to  test  the  sincerity  of  the  Mormons  in  their  declarations 
to  suspend  the  practice  of  polygamy,  the  consummation  was 
postponed  for  nearly  two  years.  It  is  provided  that  on  the 
first  day  of  August,  1894,  there  should  be  issued  a  proclama- 
tion ordering  an  election  of  one  hundred  and  seven  delegates 
from  the  twenty-six  counties  ir  the  Territory,  to  be  held  on 
the  Tuesday  next  after  the  first  Monday  in  November  follow- 
ing. These  delegates,  so  elected,  are  ordered  to  "meet  at 
the  seat  of  government  of  said  Territory  on  the  first  Mon- 

*  For  a  complete  account  of  the  dedication  services,  see  Contribu- 
tor volume  14.  page  243. 

t  For  a  copy,  see  volume  J,  "Proceedings  Constitutional  Convention, 
Utah,"  page  3. 


166  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

day  in  March,  1895,"  there  to  declare  on  behalf  of  the  people 
that  they  adopt  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  where- 
upon they  were  authorized  to  form  a  constitution  and  state 
government  for  the  proposed  State  of  Utah.  A  sum  of  $30,000 
was  appropriated  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  said  conven- 
tion, and  for  the  payment  of  the  members  thereof,  under  the 
same  regulations  as  provided  for  the  payment  of  the  terri- 
torial legislature. 

Accordingly,  on  August  1,  1894,  Hon.  Charles  C.  Rich- 
ards, secretary  of  the  Territory  and  acting  Governor,  in  the 
absence  of  Governor  Caleb  W.  West,  took  the  first  local  step 
towards  statehood,  and  towards  complying  with  the  regula- 
tions of  the  enabling  act,  by  issuing  a  proclamation,  con- 
gratulating the  people  upon  the  auspicious  occasion,  and  or- 
dering that  an  election  be  held,  "on  the  Tuesday  next  after 
the  first  Monday  in  November,  1894,"  for  the  purpose  of 
electing  the  107  delegates  to  form  such  constitutional  con- 
vention.* 

The  election  was  held  as  provided;  and,  in  further  com- 
pliance with  the  provisions  of  the  enabling  act,  the  delegates 
elected  to  the  Convention  to  adopt  a  constitution  for  the 
State  of  Utah  assembled  at  Salt  Lake  City,  on  Monday, 
March  4,  1895,  at  noon,  and  proceeded  with  their  work  in 
conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  enabling  act. 

A  complete  organization  was  effected  in  the  course  of 

*  The  delegates  were  apportioned  as  follows  among  the  existing 
counties:  Beaver,  2;  Box  Elder,  4;  Cache,  8;  Davis,  3;  Emery,  3; 
Garfield,  1;  Grand,  1;  Iron,  1;  Juab,  3;  Kane,  1;  Millard,  2;  Morgan, 
1;  Piute,  1;  Rich,  1;  Salt  Lake— Salt  Lake  City,  First  precinct,  4;  Salt 
Lake  City,  Second  precinct,  6;  fealt  Lake  City,  Third  precinct,  5; 
Salt  Lake  City,  Fourth  precinct,  3;  Salt  Lake  City,  Fifth  precinct, 
3;  all  precincts  outside  of  Salt  Lake  City,  8;  San  Juan,  1;  Sanpete,  7; 
Sevier,  3;  Summit,  4;  Tooele,  2;  Uintah,  1;  Utah,  12;  Wasatch,  2; 
Washington,  2;  Wayne,  1;  Weber,  11. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  167 

seven  days,  with  John_Henrv_^inith  of  Salt  Lake  City,  as 
president,  and  Parley  P.  Christensen  of  Grantsville,  as  sec- 
retary. The  honor  of  opening  the  convention  by  prayer  was 
accorded  to  President  Wilford  Woodruff,  but  he  being  indis- 
posed, it  was  granted  to  President  George  Q.  Cannon,  who 
asked  the  divine  blessing.  For  sixty-six  days  the  labor 
went  on.  Finally,  on  Wednesday,  May  8,  1895,  our  present 
state  constitution,  since  slightly  amended,  was  adopted.* 

With  the  constitution  was  an  address  presenting  the  re- 
sults of  the  Convention's  labors  for  the  consideration  of  the 
people  of  Utah,  and  submitting  the  constitution  with  "steady 
swelling  confidence"  in  the  certain  belief  that  the  voters 
would,  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  endorse  and  ratify 
their  work.  The  Constitution  granted  the  franchise,  after 
its  adoption,  to  the  women  of  the  State. 

On  the  5th  day  of  November  following,  the  regular  elec- 
tion was  held,  and  the  result  showed  the  Constitution  adopt- 
ed by  a  majority  of  23,618,  the  total  vote  being  31,305, 
leaving  a  No  vote  of  only  7,687,  as  officially  reported  by  the 
Utah  Commission,  the  Canvassing  Board,  December  4,  1895. 

Hon.  Heber  M.  Wells  was  chosen  Governor,  and  James 
T.  Hammond  Secretary^ol  State.  The  supreme  judges  were 
Charles  S.  Zane,  J.  A.  Miner,  and  G.  W.  Bartch;  C.  E.  Allen, 
was  elected  Representative  to  Congress;  and  the  Legislature, 
which  like  the  State  ticket  was  Republican,  later  chose 
Hon.  Arthur  L.  Brown  and  Hon.  Frank  J.  Cannon,  the  first 
Senators  from  Utah. 

The  officers  entered  upon  their  duties,  and  Utah,  at 


*  There  were  99  members  who  voted  aye  to  the  final  adoption,  and 
only  eight  absent.  The  $30,000  appropriated  was  spent,  and  there  was 
a  deficiency  of  $9,599.50  due  the  members  and  for  revising  the  sten- 
ographers' notes* 


168 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


length,  auspiciously  upon  her  career  of  statehood,  on  the 
sixth  day  of  January,  1896.* 

6.    THE  PIONEER  JUBILEE. 

Fifty  years  had  now  nearly  elapsed  since  the  pioneers  set 
feet  upon  the  desert  soil  of  Utah. 

On  the  first  of  March,  1897,  President  Wilford  Wood- 

*  A  full  list  of  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  Utah  Constitution- 
al Convention  follows: 
John  Henrv  Smith,  Charles   Henry  Hart,      James  David  Murdock, 

President.    Harry   Haynes,  Aquila    Nebeke>, 

Parley  P.    Christensen,      John   Daniel   Holladay,  Jeremiah  Day  Page, 

Secretary.Robert   W.    Heybourne,  Edward   Partridge, 
Louis    Bernhardt    Adams,Samuel   Hood    Hill,          J.    D.    Peters, 
Rufus  Albern  Allen,  William    Howard,  Mons   Peterson, 

Andrew  Smith  Anderson, Henry  Hughes,  James  Christian  Peterson, 

John  Richard  Barnes,         Joseph  Alonzo   Hyde,      Franklin    Pierce, 

Anthony  Woodward  Ivins,   William    B.    Preston, 
William   F.   James,  Alonzo  .  Hazelton  Raleigh, 

Lycurgus   Johnson,  Franklin  Snyder  Richards, 

Joseph   Loftis  Jolley,       Joel    Ricks, 
Frederick   John    Kiesel,  Brigham    Henry   Roberts, 
David    Keith,  Jasper  Robertson, 

Joseph  Eldredge  Robinson, 

William  Jasper  Kerr,      William  Eugene  Robinson, 
Andrew  Kimball,  George  Ryan, 

James  NathanielKimball,    John   Henry   Smith, 
George  B.  Squires, 
William  Gilson  Sharp, 

Christen  Peter  Larsen,  Harrison  Tuttle  Shrutliff, 
Hyrum    Lemmon,  Edward  Hunter  Snow, 

Theodore  Belden  Lewis.Hyrum  Hupp  Spencer, 
William  Lewe,  David  Brainerd  Stover, 

Peter    Lowe,  Charles  Nettleton  Strevell, 

James  Patten  Low,         Charles    William    Symons, 
Anthony  Canute  Lund,  Daniel    Thompson, 
Moses  Thatcher, 


Richard    G.    Lambert, 
Lauritz  Larsen, 


John   Rutledge   Bowdle, 

John    Sell    Boyer, 

Theodore  Brandley, 

Herbert    Guion    Button, 

William    Buys, 

Chester    Call, 

George  Mousley  Cannon,  Thomas    Kearns, 

John   Foy   Chidester, 

Parley  Christiansen, 

Thomas  H.  Clark,  Jr., 

Lois  Laville  Coray, 

Elmer  Ellsworth  Corfman, 

Charles    Crane, 

William  Creer, 

George  Cunningham, 

Arthur  John  Cushing, 

William  Driver, 

Dennis   Clay   Eichnor, 

Alma  Eldredge, 

Georoge  Rhodes  Emery,  Karl   G.    Maeser, 

Andreas  Engberg,  Richard   Mackintosh, 

David  Evans,  Thomas  Maloney, 

Abel   John   Evans,  William  H.  Maughan, 

Lorin  Farr,  Robert   McFarland, 

Samuel  Francis,  Gorge   P.   Miller, 

William   Henry   Gibbs,       Elias    Morris, 

Charles  Carrol  Goodwin,  Jacob  Moritz, 

James  Frederic  Green,      John  Riggs  Murdock, 


Ingwald  Conrad  Thoresen, 
Joseph  Ephraim   Thorne, 
Samuel   R.    Thurman, 
William  Grant  Van  Home, 
Charles  Stetson  Varian, 
Heber  M.  Wells 
Noble  Warrum,  Jr., 
Orson  Ferguson  Whitney, 


Francis  Asbury  Hammond,    Joseph  Royal  Myrdock,  Joseph   John  Williams. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  169 

ruff,  then  the  oldest  of  the  noble  band,  celebrated  his  90th 
birthday,  by  a  grand  gathering  of  his  friends  and  admirers,  at 
the  great  tabernacle  in  Salt  Lake  City.  The  building  was 
completely  filled,  there  being  present  the  Governor,  members 
of  the  legislature  and  many  other  public  officials,  Mormon 
and  Gentile — an  indication  of  the  complete  harmony  at  length 
existing  among  all  classes  of  the  people.  The  venerable  pres- 
ident shook  hands  with  nearly  the  entire  assembly,  and  .then 
attended  a  dinner  party  of  his  immediate  friends  at  his 
residence,  manifesting  no  signs  of  fatigue  after  the  ordeal 
he  had  passed  through. 

But  the  people  of  the  state  also  were  about  to  celebrate 
the  semi-centennial  of  the  arrival  of  Utah's  pioneers.  The 
idea  of  having  a  celebration  commemorating  the  fiftieth  an- 
niversary of  the  founding  of  Utah  was  first  expressed  in  the 
first  message  of  Governor  Heber  M.  Wells,  read  to  the  first 
state  legislature  on  January  8,  1896.  He  recommended  the 
holding  of  an  "Inter-mountain  Fair"  in  1897,  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Deseret  Agricultural  and  Manufacturing  So- 
ciety, suggesting  that  no  state  fair  be  held  in  1896,  but  that 
all  the  funds  and  energies  be  reserved  for  the  celebration 
of  1897.  The  suggestion  found  a  ready  response,  and  $5,000 
were  appropriated  by  said  legislature,  to  be  expended  by  a 
commission  of  ten  persons  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor. 
These  were  to  appoint  a  chairman  and  secretary  from  among 
their  own  number,  and  the  commission  were  to  control  the 
celebration  and  serve  without  pay.  They  were  instructed 
in  the  act  to  "conduct  a  semi-centennial  celebration  in  1897 
of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  arrival  of  the  Utah  pioneers 
in  Utah."  In  November  of  the  same  year,  Governor  Wells 
named  the  personnel  of  the  Utah  Semi-Centennial  Commis- 
sion; Spencer  Clawson,  E.  F.  Colburn,  C.  R.  Savage,  E.  Q> 


170  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Rognon,  Horace  G.  Whitney,  Mrs.  George  Y.  Wallace  and 
Mrs.  A.  W.  McCune  of  Salt  Lake  City;  Jos.  Stanford  of  Og- 
den;  Jno.  Murdock  of  Beaver;  and  Mrs.  R.  C.  Easton  of  Lo- 
gan. These  organized  the  same  month  with  Spencer  Claw- 
son,  chairman,  E.  G.  Rognon,  secretary;  and  Mrs.  Geo.  Y. 
Wallace,  treasurer.  In  January,  1897,  the  second  state  legis- 
lature was  induced  to  increased  the  appropriation  to  $15,000; 
and,  some  of  the  commission  having  resigned,  others  were 
appointed  to  the  number  of  fifteen,  as  follows:  Spencer 
Clawson,  E.  F.  Colburn,  E.  G.  Rognon,  J.  D.  Spencer,  Jacob 
Moritz,  W.  A.  Nelden,  E.  A.  Smith,  W.  B.  Preston,  Horace 
G.  Whitney,  Mrs.  Geo.  Y.  Wallace,  Miss  Emily  Katz  and  Miss 
Cora  Hooper  of  Salt  Lake;  Reed  Smoot  of  Provo;  Mayor 
H.  H.  Spencer  of  Ogden;  and  Mrs.  R.  C.  Easton  of  Logan. 
The  Commission  set  to  work  immediately  to  make  the  need- 
ed preparation,  their  united  work,  aided  by  the  legislative 
appropriation,  the  munificent  gifts  of  the  Church,  the  rail- 
roads, and  the  public,  resulting  in  a  magnificent  celebra- 
tion. 

The  first  of  its  main  features  was  the  ujiyjeilirig_of_the 
monument  to  President  Brigham  Young  and  the  Pioneers, 
on  Tuesday,  July  20th.*  All  the  pioneers  of  1847,  who 
could  be  found  in  the  state  and  elsewhere,  had  been  given 
free  transportation  and  entertainment  to  and  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  were  present  surrounding  the  platform  upon  which 
stood  the  governor  of  the  state,  and  Wilford  Woodruff,  the 
foremost  of  the  surviving  snow-headed  band.  The  statue  was 

*  The  Pioneer  Monument  Association  was  organized  in  1891.  The 
design  for  the  monument  was  given  to  C.  E.  Dallin,  a  native  of  Utah 
who  has  attained  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  sculptor  in  the  art  cen- 
tres of  Europe.  The  monument  has  cost  about  $35,000,  which  has  been 
mainly  contributed  by  the  people  in  the  various  stakes  of  Zion  in 
small  amounts.  While  the  monument  was  unveiled  as  stated  above, 
it  was  not  until  July  24,  1900,  that  the  bas-relief  of  the  Pioneer  Group, 
and  the  figures  of  the  Indian  .and  Trapper  were  placed  in  position  and 
unveiled.  See  article  on  "Pioneer  Monument"  by  Hon.  Spencer  Claw- 
son,  Improvement  Era,  Vol.  3,  page  881. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  171 

unveiled  in  their  presence  and  the  dedicatory  prayer  offered 
by  President  Woodruff.  It  was  an  impressive,  significant, 
and  gratifying  spectacle,  suggestive  of  many  thoughts  of 
wonder,  admiration  and  thanks  to  God  for  the  marvelous 
works  and  transformations  of  the  fifty  years  completed.  On 
that  same  afternoon,  five  hundred  surviving  pioneers  were 
by  the  citizens  of  Salt  Lake,  tendered  a  public  reception  in 
the  tabernacle.  Here  a  prize  poem  by  N.  Albert  Sherman 
was  read;  the  prize  ode,  by  Professor  Evan  Stephens,  words 
by  Orson  F.  Whitney,  was  sung  by  a  choir  of  a  thousand 
voices;  and  over  five  hundred  gold  badges  were  distributed  to 
the  pioneers  present.* 

On  the  second  day,  (21st)  there  was  a  magnificent 
"pageant  of  progress"  illustrating  the  development  of  Utah 
from  1847  to  1897,  giving  a  history,  ?n  living  pictures  on 
wheels,  of  the  prior  condition,  and  the  progressive  changes 
of  intervening  years. 

j-  The  third  day  (22nd)  was  children's  day,  and  there  was  a 
parade  of  ten  thousand  children  from  Salt  Lake,  Weber,  and 
Davis  counties.  Passing  the  Pioneer  Monument,  this  host  of 
little  ones  fairly  buried  its  pedestal  in  a  heap  of  flowers;  then 
going  to  the  tabernacle,  President  Woodruff  was  crowned  by 
them  with  flowers.f  The  night  was  given  up  to  a  pageant  rep- 
resenting "Salt  Lake,  Real  and  Fanciful." 

*  Horace  G.  Whitney,  in  a  "Review  of  the  Jubilee,"  Improvement 
Era,  volume  1,  page  65,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred  for  a  detailed 
account  of  the  celebration,  writes  that  up  to  October  15,  badges  were 
also  sent  to  surviving  absent  pioneers.  Altogether  710  pioneers  had  so 
far  been  recorded. 

t  Ida  TaylcrWhitaker,  a  granddaughter  of  President  Taylor,  rep- 
resented the  children,  and  said:  "As  one  of  the  descendants  of  Utah's 
1847  pioneers,  I  crown  you,  the  oldest  of  that  noble  band  present  here 
today,  and  pray  God's  blessing  on  you  and  all  your  pioneer  compan- 
ions." An  appropriate  program  was  presented  to  a  large  congrega- 
tion of  assembled  people  from  all  parts  of  the  state. 


172  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Among  the  splendors  of  the  closing  day  was  the  grand 
parade,  including  the  original  wagon  train,  the  touching 
march  of  the  gray-haired,  trembling  pioneers,  who,  with 
President  Woodruff,  who  rode  in  the  procession  and  on  the 
way,  were  received  with  salvos  of  cheers  which  they  smilingly 
acknowledged.  The  display  of  fireworks  from  Capitol  Hill, 
witnessed  by  at  least  sixty  thousand  people,  brought  the  fes- 
tivities to  a  close. 

The  celebration  was  a  grand  success  as  an  honor  and  a 
tribute  to  the  noble  pioneers,  as  an  entertainment,  as  a  re- 
viver of  memories  and  impresser  of  the  young,  an  ad- 
vertiser of  the  resources  of  Utah,  and  a  panorama  of  her 
fifty  years  of  progress.  It  was  a  financial  success  as  well,  for 
after  paying  their  expenses,  the  commission  had  a  surplus  of 
$2,000  besides  its  Hall  of  Kelics.  It  united,  also,  more  close- 
ly in  interest  and  feeling  all  the  people  of  the  state,  who  met 
upon  a  common  platform,  with  malice  towards  none,  to 
glorify  the  achievements  of  the  Mormon  Pioneers. 

7.    UTAH  IN  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN. 

It  was  on  the  15th  day  of  February,  1898,  that  the 
United  States  Battleship  "Maine"  was  blown  up  while  an- 
chored in  the  Havana  harbor,  Cuba,  its  destruction  being 
doubtless  due  to  the  treachery  of  Spanish  officers.  The  af- 
fair led  to  a  war  between  the  United  States  and  Spain  which 
was  practically  declared  in  a  resolution  passed  by  the  lower 
house  of  Congress  on  April  13,  following,  supplemented  by 
a  resolution  of  the  Senate,  on  Saturday,  the  16th,  declaring 
Cuban  independence,  and  on  the  18th,  a  joint  resolution  of 
Congress  to  the  same  effect.  The  war  really  began  on  the 
21st,  while  the  first  gun  was  fired  by  the  American  cruiser, 
"Nashville,"  which  caused  the  surrender  of  a  Spanish  lum- 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

her  merchant  vessel,  "Buena  Ventura."  On  the  23rd,  Presi- 
dent William  McKinley  called  for  125,000  volunteers,  and 
this  was  followed  by  a  proclamation  from  Governor  Heber 
M.  Wells  calling  for  Utah's  quota,  five  hundred  strong,  to 
serve  two  years.  The  colored  soldiers  stationed  at  Fort 
Douglas,  and  who  afterwards  became  famous  as  the  heroes 
of  San  Juan  hill,  had  already,  (on  the  20th)  left  Salt  Lake 
City,  amid  the  cheers  of  her  citizens,  with  cries  of  "Remem- 
ber the  Maine,"  ringing  in  their  ears.  On  the  23rd,  the  Six- 
teenth Infantry,  formerly  stationed  at  Salt  Lake,  arrived 
from  the  north,  and  were  met  by  Governor  Wells  and  staff 
and  militia  officers,  at  Ogden,  where  five  thousand  citizens 
gave  them  a  rousing  and  enthusiastic  reception. 

On  Thursday,  28th,  President  Woodruff  and  counsel 
issued  a  patriotic  appeal  to  the  young  Latter-day  Saints,  call- 
ing upon  them  to  respond  with  alacrity  to  the  call  made  upon 
Utah  to  furnish  volunteers  for  the  army.  Recruiting  officers 
were  sent  out,  and  it  was  only  a  short  time  till  the  ranks 
were  filled  by  stalwart  young  men,  eager  to  enter  the  service 
of  our  country. 

It  was  the  first  day  of  May,  at  daybreak,  that  Commodore 
(now  Admiral)  George  Dewey  with  his  American  Asiatic 
Squadron  destroyed  the  Spanish  fleet  in  Manila  harbor,  a 
victory  which  added  zest  and  enthusiasm  to  the  volunteers, 
now  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  new  state  to  the  common 
rendezvous  in  Salt  Lake  City.  Flags  were  displayed  in  every 
hamlet  and  city,  patriotic  programs  of  song,  music  and  ora- 
tion were  given  in  the  churches  and  public  schools,  and  by 
societies  and  associations  everywhere.  On  the  20th,  Bat- 
teries A  and  B,  of  about  300  persons,  with  eight  guns,  under 
command  of  Majors  F.  A.  Grant  and  Richard  W.  Young, 
left  Salt  Lake  with  the  farewells,  best  wishes  and  God-speed 


174  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

of  all  the  people;  they  arrived  in  San  Francisco  on  the  22nd, 
on  their  way  to  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  were  grandly 
greeted.  These  were  followed  on  the  24th  by  the  Utah  Cav- 
alry, eighty-two  in  number,  under  command  of  Captain 
Joseph  E.  Caine,  while  Troop  I,  Torrey's  Eough  Riders  un- 
der Colonel  John  Q.  Cannon  had  gone  east  on  the  15th  to  be 
mustered  into  service  at  Cheyenne,  Wyoming. 

It  is  not  the  prerogative  of  this  narrative  to  follow  the 
Utah  boys,  who  had  thus  come  to  the  front  in  the  service 
of  our  country,  in  their  campaigns,  but  let  it  suffice  to 
say,  they  were  an  honor  to  their  state  and  country,  and  their 
patriotic  actions  silenced  forever  the  enemies  of  Utah  who 
were  constantly,  and  especially  prior  to  the  time  of  her  ad- 
mission into  the  Union,  complaining  that  the  Mormons, 
who  composed  the  great  majority  of  her  citizens,  were 
neither  patriotic  nor  loyal.  The  Rough  Riders  returned  in 
October,  1898,  having  been  mustered  out  of  service  at  Jack- 
sonville, Florida,  on  the  28th;  but  the  Manila  Batteries  re- 
mained in  service  until  Aug.  16,  1899,  when  they  were  mus- 
tered out  in  San  Francisco.  Governor  Wells  issued  a  procla- 
mation designating  the  19th  a  legal  holiday,  that  being  the 
day  of  their  return  to  Utah.  The  day  was  enthusiastically 
observed  by  the  people,  and  the  boys  were  received  with 
heartfelt  joy,  the  welcome  extended  being  as  universal  as  it 
was  sincere.  And  it  was  proper  that  it  should  be  so. 

They  did  their  duty  well,  and  merited  the  recognition  of 
brave,  true  soldiers.  They  returned  bearing  their  full  share 
of  the  laurels  of  war.  As  a  body,  they  made  history  that  will 
ever  remain  to  their  glory,  and  be  a  matter  of  pride  to  our 
state  forever.  Among  the  most  active  in  the  Philippine  war, 
they  were  individually  looked  upon  as  model  men,  and  gained 
from  military  experts  encomiums  of  praise  for  bravery,  de- 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  lt5 

totion  to  duty,  ability,  earnestness,  morality,  and  good  be- 
havior. Thus,  they  not  only  earned  renown  for  themselves, 
but  placed  the  name  of  Utah  well  up  in  the  roll  of  honor 
among  the  states  of  our  great  Republic.  Every  Utahn,  there- 
fore, felt  and  feels  a  personal  interest  in  their  achievements, 
and  receives  benefit  by  their  valor  and  reputation. 

What  has  been  termed  good  luck,  but  what  rather  must 
be  recognized  as  the  blessing  of  God,  accompanied  the  Utah 
boys  in  their  travels,  in  their  battles,  in  their  return.  Free 
from  storms  of  nature,  and  troubles  among  men,  their 
transports  crossed  the  seas  in  peace.  Notwithstanding  they 
were  constantly  at  the  front,  their  number  in  killed  and 
wounded  was  phenomenally  small.  Out  of  the  three  hund- 
red and  fifty-four  enlisted,  only  thirteen  died.  Thus  the  Al- 
mighty marvelously  preserved  them  from  both  the  fire  of  the 
enemy  and  the  ravages  of  disease.* 

8.    DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT   WILFORD  WOODRUFF. 

President  Wilford  Woodruff,  who  was  born  at  Farming- 
ton,  (now  Avon),  Hartford  County,  Connecticut,  March  1, 
1807,  was  at  this  time  in  his  ninety-second  year.  He  was 
baptized  into  the  Church,  December  31,  1833,  when  it  was 
little  more  than  three  years  old.  He  had  seen  the  Church 
rise  almost  from  its  infancy,  and  had  carefully  chronicled 
its  marvelous  career  in  one  of  the  most  faithfully  kept  jour- 


*  For  a  list  of  names  of  the  volunteers  in  Battery  A  and  B  and 
their  officers;  also  of  recruits  enlisted  by  Lieut.  Edgar  A.  Wedge  wood 
to  fill  the  Batteries  to  maximum  strength;  also  of  Battery  C  under 
Captain  Frank  W.  Jennings;  the  First  Troop  Utah  U.  S.  Volunteer 
Cavalry,  Joseph  E.  Caine  captain;  and  Troop  I,  Second  Regiment 
U.  S.  Volunteer  Cavalry  (Torrey's  Rough  Riders),  Captain  John  Q. 
Cannon;  and  also  a  portion  of  Captain  Robert  P.  Johnston's  com- 
pany, Second  Regiment  U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers,  commanded  by 
Col.  Willard  Young,  enlisted  in  Utah  by  Lieut.  F.  J.  Mills,  see  Gov- 
ernor Heber  M.  Wells'  message  to  the  third  session  of  the  state  leg- 
isls  cure,  January,  1899. 


176  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

nals  that  any  man  has  ever  made.  His  life  was  wonderfully 
interwoven  with  that  of  the  Church.  From  the  time,  on 
January  2,  1834,  when  he  was  ordained  a  teacher,  through 
the  various  degrees  of  the  Priesthood  and  on  upward  to  the 
time  when,  on  April  26,  1839,  he  was,  in  Far  West,  ordained 
one  of  the  Twelve,  he  was  ever  associated  with  the  leaders  of 
the  Church.  He  was  enthusiastic,  true  and  faithful  in  every 
call  to  further  the  cause  of  Zion,  which  he  knew  was  the 
cause  of  God.  He  was  one  of  the  most  successful  mission- 
aries the  Church  has  ever  had;  and  one  of  the  most  faithful 
of  its  servants.  He  had  grown  with  it  from  youth;  and  had 
witnessed  marvelous  changes,  as  well  as  wonderful  handdeal- 
ings  of  the  Lord  with  the  Latter-day  Saints.  It  is  difficult  to 
tell  which  part  of  his  history  and  that  of  the  Church  is  the 
most  remarkable — the  early  part  or  the  later  years.  He  sure- 
ly witnessed  during  his  administration  as  its  president  some 
of  the  most  remarkable  incidents  of  its  wonderful  history.  Let 
us  glance  at  a  fewleading,  great  historical  events  of  his  career 
as  president  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day 
Saints :  The  fearful  persecutions  of  the  Saints,  leading  to  the 
suspension  of  polygamy;  the  disintegration  of  the  People's 
and  Liberal  parties^  as  a  result  of  his  so-called  manifesto; 
the  adoption  of  National  politics  by  the  people  of  Utah;  the 
dedication,  after  forty  years  of  building,  of  the  great  Salt 
Lake  Temple;  the  erection  of  the  Lehi  sugar  plant,  demon- 
strating the  power  of  Utah  people  to  save  millions  by  pro- 
ducing their  own  sugar;  the  building  of  Saltair;  the  harness- 
ing of  the  Ogden  river  to  produce  light  and  power;  the  ad- 
mission of  Utah  into  the  sisterhood  of  states;  the  semi-cen- 
tennial celebration  in  honor  of  the  Utah  pioneers,  and  the 
Utah  volunteers  taking  part  in  the  Spanish-American  war 
of  1898.  He  had  now  lived  to  see  the  fulfillment  of  his  own 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  177 

prophecy,  made  five  years  previous,  at  the  dedication  of  the 
Temple,  that  the  day  is  at  hand  when  the  rich  favor  of  God 
will  be  bestowed  upon  Zion,  and  when  He  will  comfort  her. 
Surely,  it  was  so,  and  his  servant,  full  of  years,  had  lived  to 
witness  it.  He  died  in  San  Francisco  on  September  2,  1898. 

The  circumstances  in  brief  surrounding  his  last  days 
and  death  were  these.  On  August  13,  he  left  Salt  Lake  City 
with  his  wife,  Emma  Smith,  and  President  George  Q.  Can- 
non and  his  wife,  on  his  way  to  the  coast  for  the  benefit  of 
his  health  which  was  as  good  as  it  had  been  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  appeared  to  be  full  of  vigor  and  happiness.  Ar- 
riving at  San  Francisco,  he  enjoyed  himself  greatly,  and 
spoke  twice  in  public — to  the  Latter-day  Saints,  and  at  a 
meeting  of  Pacific  Coast  Octogenarians.  On  the  first  day  of 
September,  he  was  taken  very  ill,  the  cause  of  his  illness  be- 
ing retention  of  the  urine,  and  on  the  following  day,  Septem- 
ber 2,  at  6:40  a.  m.,  he  died  at  the  residence  of  Col.  Isaac 
Trumbo.  That  same  evening  the  train,  tendered  gratuitous- 
ly by  the  Southern  Pacific  Eailway  Company,  bearing  his  re- 
mains, left  for  Utah,  arriving  at  Ogden  on  Sunday  morning, 
4th,  at  7:05  o'clock.  Here  the  presidency,  with  the  high 
council  and  bishops  of  the  Weber  stake,  with  several  hund- 
red leading  elders  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  many 
men,  women  and  children  of  all  classes  and  denominations, 
met  at  the  depot,  and  with  bared  heads,  as  a  mark  of  respect 
to  the  departed  leader,  silently  watched  the  coming  of  the 
train.  A  special  Eio  Gratfde  train  came  into  the  station 
from  Salt  Lake  a  few  moments  before,  bearing  Prest.  Joseph 
F.  Smith,  and  a  large  number  of  the  general  authorities  of 
the  Church,  and  members  of  the  family.  Without  any  cere- 
mony, the  funeral  car  was  transferred  to  the  Kio  Grande  to 
be  conveyed  to  Salt  Lake  City.  Before  its  departure,  the 
12 


178  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

little  chapel  was  thrown  open,  and  several  hundred  people 
availed  themselves  of  the  privilege  of  paying  a  silent  tribute 
to  the  good,  upright,  honorable  man  and  leader  who  rested 
there  in  the  sleep  of  death.  Some  shook  hands  with  Presi- 
dent Cannon,  who,  though  ill  and  broken  by  the  journey  and 
the  trying  events  of  the  last  three  days,  was  still  able  to  greet 
many  of  his  friends.  Tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks  as  he 
pressed  their  hands.  The  plain  casket  was  covered  and 
surrounded  with  fragrant  California  flowers,  surmounted  by 
a  bearded  sheaf  of  ripe  wheat,  a  fitting  emblem  of  the  full 
and  ripened  life  of  the  departed.  At  its  foot  stood  a  column 
of  flowers,  and  at  the  head  was  a  pillow  of  roses,  with  lilies, 
asters,  carnations  and  other  blossoms  strewn  all  about.  It 
was  a  perfect  day  which  welcomed  the  distinguished  dead  to 
witnessed  only  in  this  mountain  region.  The  day,  too,  was 
his  beloved  Utah,  one  of  those  clear,  sweet  September  days 
observed  by  the  Saints  as  a  fast  day,  and  the  sunlit  calm 
surrounding  partook  of  nature's  grandeur,  Sabbath  peace, 
and  religious  devotion.  Curiosity  had  fled  from  the  multi- 
tude, to  give  place  to  real  sorrow  among  the  people. 

Arriving  at  Salt  Lake  City,  a  procession  of  some  thirty 
carriages  formed,  and  passed  after  the  hearse  through  the 
main  part  of  the  city,  past  Liberty  Park,  to  Woodruff  Villa. 
It  was  decided,  later,  to  hold  the  funeral  services  in  the  Tab- 
ernacle, on  Thursday,  September  8,  1898.  On  that  day 
thousands  attended  from  all  parts  of  the  state.  Very  rich 
and  effective  white  drapery  of  cream  and  cashmere  and  white 
ribbon,  on  the  stand;  the  great  choir,  with  all  the  ladies 
dressed  in  white;  an  electric  display  above  the  life-sized 
painting  of  the  deceased,  bearing  the  legend:  "Being  Dead 
Yet  Speaketh;"  in  the  background,  a  large  American  flag 
across  the  great  organ;  under  the  portrait  of  the  dead,  large 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  179 

bunches  of  sagebrush,  intermingled  with  sunflowers;  tops 
of  rugged  pine,  the  yellow  tops  of  furze  and  rabbit  brush — 
symbols  of  Utah  in  the  past — with  ripe  sheaves  of  wheat  and 
oats — symbols  of  today — comprise  a  brief  mention  of  the 
unique,  simple,  but  beautiful  decorations  of  the  Tabernacle. 
Then  there  were  flowers  in  profusion,  symbols  of  love  for 
their  leader  gone  to  rest,  until  the  bier  was  literally  em- 
bossed in  a  tapestry  of  blossom. 

After  organ  music  and  singing,  a  prayer  was  offered  by 
Apostle  F.  D.  Eichards,  followed  by  tributes  in  speech  from 
President  Joseph  F.  Smith,  and  Elders  Lorenzo  Snow, 
Franklin  D.  Eichards,*  and  President  George  Q.  Cannon. 
"God  Moves  in  a  Mysterious  Way,"  Elder  Woodruffs  favor- 
ite hymn,  was  sung,  and  the  closing  prayer  was  offered  by 
Apostle  Brigham  Young.  The  cortege,  long  and  grand,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  cemetery,  viewed  by  thousands  of  people  who 
thronged  the  line  of  march.  Arriving  at  the  grave,  at  2:45 
p.  m.,  the  Harmony  Glee  Club  sang:  "Not  Dead,  but  Sleep- 


*  Apostle  Franklin  Dewey  Richards  died  on  the  morning  of  De- 
cember 9,  1899,  at  his  home  in  Ogden.  He  was  born  at  Richmond, 
Massachusetts,  April  2,  1821,  and  was  the  son  of  Phineas  and  Wealthy 
Richards.  He  was  baptized  by  his  father  in  1836,  was  ordained  a  sev- 
enty in  1839,  an  apostle  in  1849,  and  became  president  of  the  quorum 
of  Twelve  Apostles  when  Apostle  Lorenzo  Snow  was  chosen  Presi- 
dent of  The  Church,  in  1898.  He  was  buried  in  the  Ogden  Cemetery, 
his  funeral  being  attended  by  President  Snow,  the  Twelve,  and  large 
concourses  of  people. 

He  filled  many  missions  at  home  and  in  foreign  lands,  and  his 
name  is-  familiar  to  the  Saints  in  all  the  world.  It  may  truly  be  said 
that  he  served  the  people  all  his  days,  and  that,  too,  in  both  a  relig- 
ious and  a  civil  capacity.  He  held  the  important  office  of  probate 
judge  in  Weber  county  from  1869  to  1883.  Among  his  other  labors  he 
was  Historian  of  The  Church,  and  in  this  capacity  did  much  to  pre- 
serve valuable  data,  civil  and  ecclesiastical.  He  was  also  president 
of  the  State  Historical  Society. 

He  was  an  ideal  Latter-day  Saint.  Kind,  fatherly,  loving— a  man 
who  won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  who  knew  him.  When  he 
spoke,  all  listened  as  to  one  who  would  utter  only  that  which  was 
good,  and  which  would  grieve  none.  He  was  thoroughly  in  accord 
with  the  spirit  of  Joseph  Smith,  his  very  being  vibrating  with  the 
testimony  of  the  prophet's  divine  mission. 


180  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

eth,"  and  Apostle  Francis  M.  Lyman  dedicated  the  grave 
which  was  then  covered  with  a  profusion  of  flowers. 

And  so  died  and  was  laid  away,  Wilford  Woodruff,  the 
farmer,  the  missionary,  the  historian,  the  president,  the  lov- 
ing father  and  husband,  a  most  remarkable  man,  beloved  by 
a  whole  people,  whose  life  had  been  a  long,  busy  round  of 
unselfish  usefulness. 

9.    PRESIDENT  LORENZO  SNOW'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Some  years  prior  to  the  death  of  President  Woodruff,  he 
had  warned  the  Apostles,  upon  whom  devolves  the  responsi- 
bility of  presiding  in  case  the  First  Presidency  is  unorgan- 
ized for  any  cause,  that  there  would  be  no  long  interval  be- 
tween his  death  and  the  organization  of  a  new  First  Presi- 
dency. Acting  upon  this  warning,  and  being  inspired  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  President  Lorenzo  Snow  was  by  them 
chosen,  sustained  and  set  apart,  as  President  of  the  Church, 
on  September  13,  1898,  eleven  days  after  the  death  of  Presi- 
dent Woodruff.  He  chose  as  his  counselors,  George  Q.  Can-  • 
non  and  Joseph  F.  Smith  who  had  acted  in  that  capacity 
under  both  Presidents  Taylor  and  Woodruff.  The  choice  was 
confirmed  by  the  Church  in  solemn  assembly  at  the  following 
October  semi-annual  conference. 

President  Lorenzo  Snow  was  born  at  Mantua,  Portage 
County,  Ohio,  April  3,  1814,  and  entered  Oberlin  College  at 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  where  he  received  a  good  education. 
In  1836,  he  was  baptized  into  the  Church,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  began  his  ministerial  career.  Three  years  later,  he 
went  with  Parley  P.  Pratt  to  Europe  on  his  first  mission,  and 
while  in  England  published  a  religious  pamphlet,  "The  Only 
Way  to  be  Saved/'  a  work  that  has  served  to  familiarize  more 
people,  in  more  languages,  with  the  first  principles  of  the 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  181 

gospel,  than  any  other  publication  of  the  kind  ever  written ; 
and  through  which  he  will  continue  to  bear  his 
testimony  to  the  nations.  Eeturning  to  America  in  1843,  at 
the  head  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  converts,  he  conducted,  in 
the  year  following,  a  vigorous  campaign  in  Ohio  for  Joseph 
Smith  for  President  of  the  United  States.  Later,  he  taught 
the  grammar  school  in  Nauvoo,  and  finally,  after  much  sick- 
ness and  tribulation,  arrived  in  Salt  Lake  Valley  in  1848. 
On  the  year  following,  having  first  been  ordained  an  Apostle 
on  February  12,  he  opened  the  Italian  mission,  translating 
the  Book  of  Mormon.  Eeturning  in  July,  1852,  after  three 
years  absence,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  territorial  leg- 
islature, where  he  served  three  terms  in  the  house  and  twenty- 
three  in  the  council,  until  1882.  With  fifty  families  he 
founded  Brigham  City,  in  1855,  where  he  dwelt,  established 
the  united  order  of  Brigham,  and  presided  over  the  Box 
Elder  Stake  for  twenty-two  years,  until  August,  1877,  serv- 
ing also  on  two  missions  during  this  period — in  1872  with 
George  A.  Smith  to  Europe  and  Palestine,  and,  in  1864,  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  It  was  in  March  while  on  this  latter 
mission  that  he  was  providentially  saved  after  being  drowned 
in  the  Pacific.  About  the  time  the  "raid"  was  in  full  force, 
in  November,  1885,  he  was  convicted  of  unlawful  cohabita- 
tion, and  sentenced  to  three  terms  of  six  months  each  in  the 
Utah  penitentiary,  serving  eleven  months,  and  being  later 
released  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  On  the  Sixth  of  April, 
1889,  he  became  president  of  the  quorum  of  Twelve  Apostles, 
which  position  he  magnified  until  he  was  made  President  of 
the  Church. 

When  President  Snow  took  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Church,  it  was  largely  involved  in  debt  owing  to  the  troubles 
incident  to  the  confiscation  of  its  property  during  the  perse- 


182  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

eutions  of  a  decade  which  ended  with  the  "changed  condi- 
tions" in  the  early  90's.  The  financial  affairs  of  the  Church 
had  heen  a  great  burden  upon  President  Woodruff,  for  he 
was  a  man  who  had  never  heen  in  debt,  and  who  had  never 
realized  its  worry,  until  his  official  position  placed  him  there. 

President  Snow  seems  to  have  been  specially  selected  of 
God  to  relieve  the  Church  of  this  burden  of  debt,  and  to 
place  its  affairs  upon  a  sound  business  basis,  for  no  sooner 
was  he  installed,  than  he  was  inspired  to  find  a  remedy  for 
the  financial  strain.  He  authorized  two  bond  issues  aggre- 
gating a  million  dollars,  thus  paying  the  most  pressing  obli- 
gations, and  thereby  materially  reducing  the  interest  rate 
upon  borrowed  money. 

Then  followed  the  movement  which  revived  the  ob- 
servance of  the  law  of  tithing — a  movement  which  marked 
his  administration  as  one  of  the  most  notable  in  the  history 
of  the  Church.  It  began  by  meetings  in  St.  George  and  the 
South,  in  May,  1899,  and  was  followed  by  a  universal  gather- 
ing of  the  leading  authorities  of  the  Priesthood  in  the  Tem- 
ple, whence  the  message  of  reform,  like  a  wave,  rolled  over 
every  stake  of  Zion,  awaking  the  people  to  their  duty.  The 
Saints  were  reminded  of  the  promise  that  this  would  be  a 
land  of  Zion  only  to  those  who  obeyed  the  divine  law  in 
relation  to  tithes  and  offerings.  They  must  pay  their  tithes, 
not  alone  to  release  the  Church  from  debt,  which  was  a 
mere  incident,  but  because  it  is  a  command  of  the  Lord  and 
must  be  obeyed.  Past  remissness  would  be  forgiven,  but 
in  the  future,  there  must  be  no  neglect  of  the  heavenly  law. 
It  was  promised  thart  if  the  law  were  obeyed,  great  blessings 
would  come  to  the  Saints;  while  if  it  were  not  heeded,  the 
Lord  for  their  disobedience  would  scourge  them  with  calami- 
ties. The  people  responded  in  humility  and  love,  and  tithes 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  183 

and  offerings  came  as  never  before.  President  Snow  grew 
in  their  estimation  as  they  in  the  fear  of  God.  Their  con- 
ditions improved,  prospects  brightened,  and  with  them  came 
improvements  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  At  no  time  has 
God  showered  blessings  upon  his  people  in  greater  abundance 
than  since  they  began  to  comply  with  this  law.  The  floating 
obligations  of  the  Church  were  paid ;  and  means  are  on  hand 
to  meet  all  other  obligations,  as  they  become  due.  Changes  and 
improvements  followed,  with  great  temporal  as  well  as 
spiritual  revivals,  that  promise  mighty  results  for  the  future. 

The  Bee  Hive  block  was  divided,  making  two  new  streets 
— College  Avenue  and  Temple  Street;  the  Bee  Hive  was 
made  the  official  residence  of  the  President;  old,  unsightly 
landmarks  were  removed,  and  the  Church  property  reno- 
vated; the  Latter-day  Saints  University  was  established,  and 
one  of  its  buildings  erected;  and  the  Church  school  system, 
established  by  President  Woodruff,  received  a  fresh  impetus; 
the  Brigham  Young  Memorial  Building  and  Barratt  Hall 
were  begun;  the  Woman's  building  was  founded  and  encour- 
aged; the  tabernacle  organ  was  remodeled  at  a  cost  of  about 
$12,000;  organ  recitals  were  continued;  the  magnificent 
Deseret  News  building  was  nearly  completed;  the  printing 
of  Church  publications  was  taken  from  private  printers  and 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Church  printing  office;  and  the 
Deseret  Neivs  greatly  improved  and  made  the  official  organ 
of  the  Church.,  To  President  Snow  must  be  given  the  credit, 
in  the  hands  of  God,  of  inaugurating  this  progressive  busi- 
ness policy. 

One  of  the  notable  events  occurring  in  his  administra- 
tion was  the  death  of  President  George  Q.  Cannon,  who  de- 
parted this  life  in  Monterey,  California,  in  the  early  morning 
of  Friday,  April  12,  1901.  His  body  was  brought  to  Salt 


184  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Lake  City  on  the  evening  of  Monday  following.  In  his  death 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  lost  a  strong, 
conservative  counselor ;  the  state,  a  mighty  pillar  of  strength ; 
the  business  world,  a  forceful  and  progressive  man  of  affairs; 
and  his  family,  a  loving,  impartial  brother,  husband  and 
father. 

George  Quayle  Cannon  was  born  in  Liverpool,  England, 
on  the  llth  day  of  January,  1827,  and  was  the  oldest  son  of 
George  and  Ann  Quayle  Cannon  who  were  natives  of  Peel, 
on  the  Isle  of  Man.  He  joined  the  Church  in  1840,  being 
baptized  by  the  late  President  John  Taylor,  February 
11.  In  September,  1842,  the  family  sailed  for 
Nauvoo;  the  mother  died  and  was  buried  in 
mid-ocean.  On  August  17,  two  years  thereafter, 
the  father  died  in  St.  Louis.  George  Q.  entered 
into  the  printing  business,  working  in  the  offices  of  the  Times 
and  Seasons  and  the  Nauvoo  Neighbor*  At  the  time  of  the 
expulsion,  he  went  to  Winter  Quarters,  and  in  1847,  crossed 
the  plains,  arriving  in  the  valley  October  3.  After  laboring 
with  the  pioneers  for  his  living,  and  enduring  with  them  the 
hardships  of  the  times  for  two  years,  he  was  called  on  a  mis- 
sion to  California,  under  the  direction  of  Elder  Charles  C. 
Rich.  His  subsequent  call  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and 
his  faithful,  though  difficult,  labors  there  in  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  gospel  to  the  natives,  four  thousand  of  whom 
joined  the  Church,  his  translation  of  the  Book  of  Mormon, 
into  the  native  language,  his  founding  of  the  Western  Stand- 
ard, in  California,  and  his  literary  labors  thereon,  are  matters 
of  well  known  history.  He  returned  in  January,  1858,  ow- 
ing to  the  Johnston's  army  trouble.  From  that  time  on,  his 
history  is  very  closely  interwoven  with  the  history  of  the 
Church  and  Utah.  Few  important  movements  have  taken 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  185 

place  in  either,  in  the  past  forty  years,  that  have  not  been 
largely  shared  or  shaped  by  George  Q.  Cannon. 

As  editor  at  various  times  of  the  Deseret  News;  as  the 
publisher  and  editor  of  the  Juvenile  Instructor,  which  he 
established  in  January,  1866;  and  as  a  publisher  and  writer 
of  books,  his  works  were  in  the  van  of  Church  literature,  and 
he  stood  as  a  leader  among  Church  writers.  In  educational 
affairs,  his  influence  was  no  less.  He  threw  his  whole  soul 
into  the  great  Sunday  School  movement  which  was  greatly 
accelerated  by  the  publication  of  the  Juvenile;  for  twenty 
years,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Kegents  of  the 
University,  ten  years  of  which  time  as  Chancellor  he  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  institution,  a  strong  supporter  and  an  ar- 
dent advocate  of  higher  education,  in  its  most  trying  years 
in  Utah.  His  labors  in  the  same  direction,  with  and  in  be- 
half of  the  great  school,  the  Brigham  Young  Academy,  and 
other  Church  educational  institutions,  stand  out  boldly  to 
view,  for  he  was  ever  alert  to  their  needs  and  best  interests. 
His  strength  consisted  largely  in  his  humility;  and  his  power 
as  a  wise  counselor,  lay  in  his  deference  for  the  opinions  of 
others,  and  in  his  willingness  to  listen  to  and  respect  their 
views.  He  ably  represented  Utah  in  Congress,  and  there  won 
the  esteem  and  respect  of  leading  men  of  the  nation.  As  a 
diplomat,  he  had  few  equals;  as  a  forceful  public  speaker,  he 
bound  his  hearers,  as  in  a  spell,  to  the  views  he  advocated. 

He  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  Cemetery,  on 
Wednesday,  April  17.  The  services  in  the  Tabernacle  were 
very  impressive.  There  were  sweet  music  and  song,  beauti- 
ful decorations  of  white,  and  a  wilderness  of  sweetly-woven 
flowers — offerings  from  loving  friends  at  home  and  in  dis- 
tant parts  of  our  country.  Touching  eulogies  on  his  noble 
life  and  deeds,  were  pronounced  by  his  faithful  brethren  to 
ten  thousand  silent  listeners,  men,  women  and  children;  and, 


186  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

throughout  the  whole  Church,  there  was  deep  and  universal 
mourning,  as  when  a  great  people  part  with  a  beloved  chief- 
tain, father,  counselor  and  guide. 

President  Lorenzo  Snow  was  soon  to  follow  his  coun- 
selor to  the  great  beyond.  He  died  at  his  home  in  the  Bee 
Hive  House,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  Thursday,  October  10, 
1901,  at  3:35  o'clock  p.  m.  The  cause  of  his  sudden  death 
was  a  cold  contracted  some  weeks  before,  which  was  not  con- 
sidered serious,  but  which  later  developed  into  bronchitis. 
He  was  unable  to  attend  more  than  one  meeting  of  the  Octo- 
ber semi-annual  conference — on  Sunday  afternoon  of  the 
6th — when  he  gave  his  last  address  to  a  vast  congregation  as- 
sembled in  the  great  tabernacle. 

The  burden  of  his  last  message  to  the  Saints  was,  "God 
bless  you."  Upon  the  presidents  of  stakes,  and  high  coun- 
cilors, he  specially  placed  the  sacred  responsibility  of  the  lo- 
cal government  of  the  fifty  stakes  of  Zion,*  enjoining  them 
to  regard  and  take  an  interest  in  the  people  in  their  various 
dominions,  as  they  would  members  of  their  own  families, 

*  The  Church  had  grown  so  that  it  required  more  and  more  officers 
to  look  after  the  people,  and  it  was  President  Snow's  policy  to  divide 
some  of  the  larger  stakes,  in  order  that  the  people  might  be  better 
cared  for  by  the  Priesthood.  In  this  way  Cache,  Salt  Lake,  and  Utah 
stakes  were  each  divided  into  three.  The  names  of  the  stakes  of  Zion, 
in  alphabetical  order,  and  as  constituted  November,  1901,  follows 
Alberta, 
Alpine, 
Bannock, 
Bear  Lake, 
Beaver, 
Benson, 
Big  Horn, 
Bingham, 
Box  Elder, 
Cache, 
Cassia, 
Davis, 
Emery, 

There  are  five  hundred  and  sixty-two  bishop's  wards. 


Fremont, 

Oneida, 

Star  Valley, 

Granite, 

Panguitch, 

Summit, 

Hyrum, 

Parowan, 

Teton, 

Jordan, 

Pocatello, 

Tooele, 

Juab, 

St.  George, 

Uintah, 

Juarez, 

St.  Johns, 

Union, 

Kanab, 

St.  Joseph, 

Utah, 

Malad, 

Salt  Lake, 

Wasatch, 

Maricona, 

San  Juan, 

Wayne, 

Millard, 

San  Luis, 

Weber, 

Morgan, 

Sevier, 

Woodruff. 

Nebo, 

Snowflake, 

North  Sant)ete, 

South  Sanpete, 

A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  187 

studying  wherein  they  may  hest  render  them  help,  physical, 
spiritual  and  financial.  He  repeatedly  cautioned  them  not  to 
forget  his  words,  and  that  they  must  remember  that  it  is 
their  duty  to  look  after  these  things.  It  is  not  the  business 
of  the  apostles.  They,  with  the  seventies,  are  chosen  to  care 
for  the  interests  of  the  world,  as  special  witnesses  of  the 
gospel  unto  the  nations.  He  also  announced  that  he  had 
chosen  a  counselor,  in  place  of  the  late  President  George  Q. 
Cannon,  since  he  felt  his  age,  and  desired  more  help.  At  the 
same  meeting,  President  Joseph  F.  Smith  was  sustained  as 
his  first  counselor,  and  Elder  Eudger  Clawson  as  his  second. 

As  a  fulfillment  of  this  requirement,  and  a  sample  of 
what  was  to  follow,  Apostle  Heber  J.  Grant,  with  three  other 
missionaries,  had  left  Utah  on  July  24,  to  open  the  mission 
field  and  introduce  the  Gospel  in  Japan,  and  Apostle  Francis 
M.  Lyman  left  a  month  or  two  earlier  to  take  charge  of  the 
interests  of  the  Church  in  Europe. 

President  Snow  had  been  an  active  minister  among  the 
people  for  nearly  sixty-five  years  of  his  busy  life.  Sixty-five 
years,  too,  of  wonderful  achievement  wrought  in  the  midst 
of  privation,  toil  and  hardship,  in  all  of  which,  with  childlike 
confidence  in  God,  and  love  for  his  fellow  men,  he  fully, 
cheerfully,  bravely,  and  with  unwavering  determination  bore 
his  share  of  the  day's  heat  and  burden. 

With  song,  and  music,  and  eulogy,  mingled  with  the 
tears  of  old  and  young.  President  Snow's  body  was  laid  to 
rest,  Sunday,  October  13,  on  the  hillside,  in  the  cemetery 
above  the  beautiful  settlement,  Brigham — city  of  his  found- 
ing. His  spirit  is  exalted  with  the  just.  To  him  went  out,  in 
death  as  they  had  in  life,  the  love  and  respect  of  a  mighty 
and  peculiar  people,  all  of  whom,  if  it  had  been  possible, 
would  gladly  have  placed  flowers  upon  his  bier;  or,  like  the 


188  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

children  of  Box  Elder,  bestrewn  with  blossoms  the  pathway 
of  his  last  journey. 

1O.    JOSEPH  F.  SMITH  CHOSEN  PRESIDENT. 

The  prophet's  lips  were  sealed,  a  noble  workman  of  our 
Father  was  carried  away,  but  the  "marvelous  work  and  a 
wonder"  falters  not  upon  its  triumphant  march.  Other  men 
have  been  chosen  who  will  make  it  equally  effective  in  their 
day.  The  first  quorum  in  the  Church  was  again  completely 
organized  on  Thursday,  October  17,  1901,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Apostles,  in  the  Temple,  when  Joseph  F.  Smith  was  chosen 
and  set  apart  as  the  President  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-day  Saints,  and  he  selected  as  his  counselors,  John 
K.  Winder  and  Anthon  H.  Lund.  At  the  same  time  Brig- 
ham  Young  was  chosen  and  set  apart  as  President  of  the 
Quorum  of  Twelve  Apostles. 

President  Smith  was  born  in  Far  West,  Missouri,  in  the 
midst  of  plunderings  and  severest  hardships  and  persecu- 
tions, on  the  thirteenth  day  of  November,  1838.  Ten  years  lat- 
er, (September  23,  1848),  he  came  to  Utah  with  his  mother, 
— his  father,  Hyrum  Smith,  the  Patriarch,  having  suffered 
martyrdom  with  the  Prophet  Joseph,  on  that  fateful  June 
24,  1844.  In  1852,  his  mother  died,  and  from  the  age  of 
fifteen  years,  he  has  been  constantly  in  the  service  of  the 
Church,  and  by  his  straightforward  course  has  won  the  love, 
confidence  and  esteem  of  the  whole  community.  He  was  or- 
dained an  Apostle  under  the  hands  of  President  Young, 
on  July  1,  1866,  and  on  the  eighth  of  October,  1867,  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  quorum  of  Twelve  Apostles. 

President  Smith  is  a  friend  of  the  people,  is  easily  ap- 
proached, is  a  wise  leader  and  counselor,  a  man  of  broad 
views,  and,  contrary  to  first  impressions,  is  a  man  whose  sym- 
pathies are  easily  aroused.  He  is  a  reflex  of  the  best  charac- 
ter of  the  Mormon  people — inured  to  hardships,  patient  in 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  189 

trial,  God-fearing,  self-sacrificing,  full  of  love  for  the  hu- 
man race,  powerful  in  moral,  mental  and  physical  strength. 

He  has  an  imposing  physical  appearance,  is  tall,  erect, 
well-knit  and  symmetrical  in  build,  with  prominent  nose  and 
features.  When  speaking,  he  throws  his  full,  clear,  hrown 
eyes  wide  open  on  the  listener  who  may  readily  perceive  from 
their  penetrating  glimpse  the  wonderful  mental  power  of  the 
tall  forehead  above.  His  large  head  is  crowned  with  an 
abundant  growth  of  hair,  in  his  early  years  dark,  but  now, 
like  his  full  beard,  tinged  with  a  liberal  sprinkling  of  gray. 
In  conversation,  one  is  forcibly  impressed  with  the  sudden 
changes  in  appearance  of  his  countenance,  under  the  differ- 
ent influences  of  his  mind:  now  intensely  pleasant,  with  an 
enthusiastic  and  childlike  interest  in  immediate  subjects  and 
surroundings :  now  absent,  the  mobility  of  his  features  set  in 
that  earnest,  almost  stern,  majesty  of  expression  so  charac- 
teristic of  his  portraits — so  indicative  of  the  severity  of  the 
conditions  and  environments  of  his  early  life.  Bravery  and 
fidelity  to  trust  are  indissolubly  interwoven  with  his  char- 
acter. He  was  never  known  to  shirk  a  duty  or  prove  re- 
creant to  a  responsibility. 

As  a  public  speaker,  his  leading  trait  is  an  intense  earn- 
estness. He  impresses  the  hearer  with  his  message  more 
from  the  sincerity  of  its  delivery,  and  the  honest  earnestness 
of  his  manner,  than  from  any  learned  exhibition  of  oratory  or 
studied  display  of  logic.  He  1  ouches  the  hearts  of  the  people 
with  the  simple  eloquence  of  one  who  is  himself  convinced 
of  the  truths  presented.  He  is  a  pillar  of  strength  in  the 
Church,  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  truths  of  the  Gospel, 
and  the  divine  origin  of  this  work. 

Under  him  the  affairs  of  the  Church  are  in  the  care  of  a 
wise,  able  and  conservative  servant  of  the  Lord,  who  has  the 


190  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

full  confidence,  sympathy  and  earnest  prayers  of  the  Latter- 
day  Saints  for  a  long  and  prosperous  administration,  under 
the  inspiration  and  blessing  of  God. 

When  it  was  announced  that  a  new  Presidency  had  been 
chosen  there  was  universal  satisfaction  among  the  people, 
and  it  was  generally  realized  that  the  Saints  felt  in  their 
hearts  to  say,  Amen. 

This  was  verified  when,  on  Sunday,  November  10,  the 
special  conference  and  solemn  assembly  of  the  Priesthood 
ratified,  without  dissenting  voice,  the  choice  made  by  the 
Apostles.  Every  stake  of  Zion  except  one,  later  heard  from, 
was  represented  either  at  the  assembly  or  by  letter  transmit- 
ting action  taken  in  local  conference  by  the  people.  All  the 
general  authorities  were  sustained,  including  Hyrum  Mack 
Smith  as  a  member  of  the  quorum  of  Twelve  Apostles.  It 
was  a  most  impressive  scene  to  witness  the  Priesthood,  oc- 
cupying the  elevated  stands  and  the  central  parts  of  the 
great  tabernacle,  rise  to  their  feet,  and,  with  uplifted  hands, 
each  quorum  in  order,  covenant  to  sustain  and  uphold  the  au- 
thorities as  presented.  This  action  was  followed  by  the  whole 
congregation,  the  whole  body  of  the  Church,  likewise  rising 
to  their  feet  and  making  in  the  same  manner  a  like  covenant. 
The  voting  was  done  in  the  following  order,  President  Joseph 
F.  Smith  himself  presenting  all  the  names  to  be  voted  for: 
First  Presidency,  Apostles,  Patriarchs,  Presidents  of  Stakes 
and  their  counselors  and  High  Councilors,  High  Priests, 
Seventies,  Elders,  Bishops  and  their  counselors,  the  lesser 
Priesthood,  (Priests,  Teachers,  and  Deacons),  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  including  the  Priesthood.  The  unity 
manifested  among  the  ten  thousand  people  was  something 
wonderful  to  behold;  while  it  must  have  been  as  astonishing 
to  the  stranger,  as  it  was  a  means  of  thrilling  joy  to  the  au- 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  191 

thorities  and  the  true  lover  of  the  work  of  God.  Surely  such 
a  manifestation  of  unity  must  have  its  power  for  good  both 
in  the  heavens  and  upon  the  earth. 

The  prayers  of  the  Saints  will  ever  ascend  in  hehalf  of 
these  brethren  who  have  been  chosen  to  direct,  under  the  in- 
spiration of  God,  the  destiny  of  the  Church,  while  the  work 
of  the  Lord,  having  auspiciously  begun  another  administra- 
tion in  the  history  of  its  achievements,  will  continue  to  ad- 
vance in  the  pathway  of  its  glorious  destiny! 
11.  CONCLUSION. 

Viewing,  as  in  the  foregoing,  the  panorama  of  the  event- 
ful past,  the  prosperity  of  the  present  appears  marvelous  in 
our  eyes — the  future  lustrous  with  bright  promise. 

The  Latter-day  Saints  are  a  happy,  prosperous,  God- 
fearing, virtuous  people,  steadily  increasing  in  numbers  and 
good  works.  Thrift,  cleanliness,  good  order,  peace  and  so- 
briety, are  among  their  characteristics.  While  they  are  not 
wealthy,  they  generally  own  their  homes,  lands  and  herds. 
God  has  blessed  the  land  because  of  them;  and  for  their 
sakes  the  earth  has  yielded  in  abundance. 

Believers  in  education,  they  are  foremost  in  giving  their 
offspring  the  advantages  of  a  true  training.  Their  children 
are  steady  attendants  at  the  public  schools  which  are  found 
in  every  city,  village  and  hamlet  where  they  abide.  Besides 
the  institutions  of  learning  founded  by  President  Young, 
President  Woodruff,  realizing  that  true  education  is  based 
upon  a  correct  theology,  counseled  the  organization  of  a 
Church  school  system  which  has  grown  until  many  of  the 
stakes  have  their  academies. 

Hundreds  of  young  missionaries  go  forth  yearly  to  all 
parts  of  the  earth,  and  return  having  their  minds  stored  with 
fresh  thoughts,  new  conceptions,  advanced  opinions,  which 


192 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


are  assimilated  by  the  Saints,  adding  new  vigor  and  life  to 
the  community.  A  host  of  about  125,000  children  are  being 
trained  in  the  Sabbath  schools,  while  nearly  thirty  thousand 
young  men,  and  about  as  many  young  ladies,  are  studying  the 
principles  of  the  gospel,  social  duties,  history  and  literature, 
in  the  Mutual  Improvement  Associations;  the  quorums  of 
the  Priesthood  are  training  their  members  for  the  duties  of 
the  ministry,  and  the  practical  labors  of  life;  while  the  Re- 
lief societies,  Primary  associations  and  Religion  classes  are 
adding  worthy*" efforts  towards  the  general  progress  and 
well-being  of  the  community. 

The  people  of  our  own  country,  and  of  the  earth,  are 
becoming  more  favorable  to  the  Saints  as  their  virtues  and 
designs  are  better  understood. 

What  of  the  future  ?  What  of  the  destiny  of  this  vigor- 
ous, progressive  people  ? 

Their  faith  is  designed  for  the  happiness,  well-being  and 
salvation,  temporal  and  spiritual,  of  all  the  creatures  of  God. 
It  is  exemplified  by  them  in  noble  and  practical  works.  Their 
religion  has  inherent  elements  of  strength,  rooted  in  the  re- 
vealed truths  of  Deity,  that  insure  its  perpetuity.  Mormon- 
ism  is  not  the  work  of  men,  but  is  the  work  of  God.  Its 
doctrines  have  been  established  for  a  wise  purpose  in  Him, 
to  prepare  mankind  for  Christ's  second  coining  and  reign  on 
earth.  In  short,  so-called  Mormonism,  broad  in  scope,  toler- 
ant, truth-seeking,  is  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  such 
is  destined  to  be  the  religion  of  the  future.  Its  truths,  built 
upon  direct  revelation  from  God,  are  constantly  gaining 
ground,  and  correspond  perfectly  to  the  needs  of  the  age. 

Its  own  centennial  close  at  hand,  with  resplendent  pros- 
pects in  view,  The  Church  has  entered  upon  the  threshold  of 
the  Twentieth  Century  full  of  bounteous  promise. 


